


Tiny Ray Palmer

by shallwebegin



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Brandon Routh - Freeform, Caity Lotz - Freeform, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Legends of Tomorrow Team are Family, M/M, Wentworth Miller - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-06-03 12:41:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 23,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6611047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shallwebegin/pseuds/shallwebegin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snippets about tiny ATOM/Ray Palmer and the team helping him cope with Carter's return.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

For example:

When Carter returns and Ray has a hissy fit because Kendra chooses Carter. 

Ray: “But I miniaturized myself and flew around your arteries getting my ass kicked by debris to save you. What has he done?”

Ray: “I listened to you flirt with an immortal psychopath who has tried to kill you for 4000 years and dominate the world. What has he done?”

Ray: “I picked a favorite color because you thought it was important!”

Ray: “I put mushrooms in the casseroles for two years because you like mushrooms. I hate mushrooms!”

Ray: “I enjoyed living in the technological dark ages for you!” 

Then his suit malfunctions and he zaps into tiny ATOM and stomps off muttering, the size of a Cheetos.

The team is worried about him and keeps trying to cheer him up but mostly they have trouble finding him. Then they realize Sara is hiding him in her pocket because their concern is just making him feel worse.

For months they would be in the middle of a battle or crisis and they hear him muttering, “Mushrooms! I hate mushrooms!” Even Carter starts to feel bad.

Then Sara drags him to the freight bay and teaches him sword fighting to channel the pain… and he tries to use his samurai sword in the kitchen. 

Whenever anyone mentions mushrooms after that, he and Sara just share a smile.


	2. Righting a Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the team fabricates a mission to keep a sad puppy distracted.

If the team didn’t go on a mission soon, there was going to be blood shed, Sara thought. Mostly Carter’s because the team was so done with his attitude. It had been two days since his miraculous return to the team and Len had wondered out loud at breakfast if they killed him this time, would he stay dead? 

It didn’t help that Ray was being a gentleman and told Kendra he understood if she needed some time to decide what she wanted. Dumbass. And worse, Kendra had taken him up on the offer and moved back into her old quarters. Dumbasses that deserved each other.

Sara wanted to be mad at Kendra as they all could see the pull she felt toward Carter but Sara knew what imprinting was like. Imprinting on an asshole was what led her back to the place she swore she would never return to and to surrender her soul to a megalomaniac murderer. She would talk to Kendra about it later but first, it was her shift to keep Ray busy.

Sara wondered if the team would ever return to the twisted normal they had reached before two days ago. Now Carter swaggered with that cocksure attitude of a man who thought he controlled a woman’s destiny and Kendra looked worried all the time and the big guy just looked like a kicked puppy. She sighed. They were all dumbasses.

Sara entered the area Ray used as a mechanical lab and he was doing it again- the staring off into space with a sad puppy face. She sighed again.

“Hey, whatcha working on?” she asked, hoping she would understand even a fraction of what the answer would probably be.

“Len’s ipod,” he said holding up the small device. “He picked it up in the future, and when I say picked it up…” 

She held up a hand, “He nicked it off some poor kid?”

Ray sighed. “Anyhow he can’t break the passcode and asked me to work on it.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard,” she offered.

He shrugged. “I cracked it several hours ago but then I listened to some of the music and it’s all really sad breakup music,” he said.

“Oh hell,” she muttered.

He turned huge, tragic brown eyes to her. “Music can be quite comforting in a time like this and we stole this person’s music.” He sounded like they should all be set before a firing squad. Well done Snart, she thought. Add another dumbass to the list.

“I’m sure it will be fine. She’s probably already replaced it,” she assured him.

“But we’re supposed to be heroes. We shouldn’t break people’s hearts.”

Sara stood, hands on hips studying him for a moment. “You want to return it don’t you?”

He nodded, a small glimmer of hope in his eyes. Well just add her name to the list she thought as she grabbed his hand, turned on her heel and headed toward Rip’s office. This should be fun.

_____________

“No, no, hell no!” Rip said, his voice raising. “We barely made it out of 2079 alive and with the timeline in tact. We are not going back to replace some purloined items that Mr. Snart couldn’t keep his hands off.”

Snart smiled. “I was bored,” he said as though that explained everything. Actually Sara had to agree. The last few missions to find this mysterious bracelet were a waste of time but Kendra seemed to have her heart set on getting it back. 

After Savage was defeated, Kendra had been having dreams about the bracelet and unfortunately, it was Ray who insisted they look for it. He used the logic that magical items of power shouldn’t be left lying around in the timeline, but mostly, he just loved Kendra and wanted to see her happy. Their search had brought Carter back and now they all flinched when they thought of that damned bracelet.

“I say we put it to a vote,” Martin said.

Sara wasn’t sure which way the professor would vote but he seemed fond of the Boy Scout so hopefully he would vote on the side of angels. 

Len raised his hand. “I vote we go back.” So much for angels.

At their surprised looks, he said, “My conscience has been bothering me.” 

Mick snorted at that nonsense but Sara was intrigued what Len might really be up to.

Sara voted, “I’m in.”

Ray of course raised his hand and Jax and Mick agreed. They looked at Martin.

“I think we have an obligation to set this wrong to right,” he said piously. 

“Unbelievable,” Rip said. “Gideon?”

“Plotting a course for 2079 now, captain,” the woman’s voice responded. 

“Buckle up kids,” Len said. “It’s showtime.”

Sara patted Ray on the shoulder as he slid into the chair next to her and hoped she hadn’t just made a huge mistake.


	3. Mission iPod

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara's wingmen

Ray knew they were all just trying to keep him distracted and he was touched. For such a disparate group of superhumans, thieves and assassins, they weren’t a bad lot. Plus he told himself he wasn’t the only one who needed a distraction. He had heard that sexy Eastern sounding music coming from Sara’s quarters and knew when she went there, mentally, Kendra would be bruised from their next workout. Maybe Sara could work out with Carter, he thought grimly. 

He didn’t know much about Sara’s affair with Nyssa al Ghul but he gathered that she was the love of Sara’s life. If this mission distracted her from a funk over her lost love, then he wouldn’t feel too badly about the silliness of it. Besides, whomever the iPod belonged to, didn’t deserve to be a victim of Snart’s sticky paws. He retrieved his tiny ATOM suit, just in case, and headed to the bridge to receive Rip’s instructions for the mission.

____________________

Sara sighed in impatience. Rip had lectured them on the mission and fussed at Len when he insisted on going along to point out the woman rather than just telling them where his thievery occurred. Rip then lectured them on the need to keep previous Len and current Len apart to protect the very fabric of time. 

As he started to lecture about time paradoxes, Snart said, “Blah, blah, bad things happen. Let’s go,” and he strolled toward the exit.

Sara and Ray shared a look as they followed him. They had landed at a park near downtown, a few minutes before when Len said he pinched the device. Rip had also lectured about the need to keep their visit down to minutes if possible. A quick in and out mission; what could go wrong?

They followed Len to a sidewalk at the edge of the park and waited in the shadow of a tree.

“There she is,” Len growled. 

They saw a pretty young woman walk slowly down the sideway, wiping tears away. Sara and Ray turned accusing eyes to Snart. 

He shrugged. “Blah, blah, blah. I’m an asshole.”

Sara rolled her eyes as she saw the woman dig out a tissue from her purse. She juggled several items, including the iPod with sad songs that she had been listening to. They watched in horror as the other Len swiped the young woman’s iPod and strolled off smiling. 

Sara knew who her sparring partner would be this evening when they returned to the ship as she scowled at the current Len.

The young woman walked to a park bench. The pretty blonde began to rummage in her purse again, looking for something, then breathing deeply as a fresh tear trickled down her cheek.

Sara grabbed the iPod from Ray. The plan was to pretend the woman had dropped it, return it, and leave before they could mess up this timeline any further.

Ray grabbed her arm as she started forward. He nodded toward a beautiful couple walking toward the woman and Sara saw what he noticed, the horrified look on the young woman’s face. She quickly wiped her tears and tried to compose herself. 

“Damn,” Sara said softly, glowering at the tall, handsome man with his arm draped casually over a sleek brunette’s shoulder. The two screamed power couple- beautiful, successful, and sure of themselves.

They stopped at the bench and the woman smiled coldly at the girl. “Why Cassandra, I thought you had left for the evening. Have you met Dylan? Dylan, this is my administrative assistant. She’s a wonder in the office. I don’t know what I’d do without her.” The malice and power dripped from her voice and even from here they saw the slight quiver of Cassandra’s lips.

Sara and Ray glanced at each other and then Sara’s eyes narrowed as she moved her death glare to the woman. 

Cassandra politely responded to the man but the little scene was hard to watch. Her boss drawled, “You look so sad sweetie. Don’t tell me your heart has been broken again. You know the problem Cassandra. You just aim too high.” 

She smirked at the woman who struggled for composure before adding, “I’ll be in at normal time tomorrow. Please have my coffee ready.“

Ray flinched as Sara actually growled. 

Ray sighed. “She’s awful,” he said softly. “If it were appropriate, I would walk up and pretend to be her boyfriend.”

She caught Len’s smile from the corner of her eye as Sara strolled confidently forward.

“Cassie, I found you,” she said reaching the young woman and kissing her on the mouth. “I’m so sorry I’m late. Work was an absolute bitch. You know how that goes,” Sara said, turning to the power couple. 

“Hi, I’m Sara,” she said, holding out a hand.

The woman’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the arm wrapped around Cassandra’s waist. They exchanged greetings but the woman had questions. As she opened her mouth though, Ray walked up, all nerdy and gangly puppy. Sara frowned. 

“Hi Sara, I’m glad I caught you. The transportation pickup you requested is scheduled in three hours if that’s okay?”

They could hear Rip shouting in their ears that it wasn’t okay but Sara rolled with it, “That’s fine Ray, thank you.”

He turned to Cassandra. “Hey Cassie,” he said. “It’s good to see you.”

Cassandra was clearly a quick study as she greeted Ray. “It’s nice to see you again too.”

Ray said, “Well, I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.” He started to leave but then stopped and turned back, saying to Sara, “Thank you for the flowers for my anniversary.” He grinned happily at Cassie, “Best boss ever.” Then the billionaire tech genius sauntered off. 

Sara noticed current Snart standing next to previous Snart and sharing a knowing smile and she figured Rip must be having a heart attack over possible time paradoxes and that just made the moment even better. 

Sara turned to Cassandra and said, “We should get going. We don’t want to miss our dinner reservations. I know you’ve had a tough week and you deserve to be spoiled.” 

They left Cassandra’s boss looking decidedly less smug than she had a few minutes earlier.

Sara explained they had seen Cassandra drop her iPod and realized the awkward situation, and she and her friend had rolled with it. As she turned off the British swearing in her ear, Sara planned how to explain that Cassandra deserved better and maybe even distract her for a few hours. Sara knew there would be a lecture from Rip when she returned to the Waverider but figured it was worth it. 

As they walked off, she saw Ray join the two Snarts. The three men waved at her, amused, as she led the lovely Cassandra away. 

She shook her head. When did a cold-blooded criminal and a nerdball become her wingmen?


	4. Sprinkles

Sara was zoning out while Ray explained the reason the thingamabob she was holding was important to the whatsit he was holding. They both froze when they heard Kendra’s voice in the hall. He had been avoiding Kendra like the plague and while Sara was a “rip the band aid off” sort of person, she sympathized. They all assumed “that” talk was coming and they were running out of ways to keep the big guy distracted as it were. 

Almost involuntarily, he shrunk. 

“Oh sweetie,” she murmured. Then she picked up his squirming, tiny self and dropped him in her sweater pocket as Kendra entered.

“Have you seen Ray?”

Sara could feel his tiny head shaking wildly against her hip. 

“Nope,” she said, trying to look innocent.

Kendra frowned. “Where the hell is he? We need to talk.”

“I’m sure when he’s ready, you’ll find him,” Sara offered helpfully. 

Kendra sighed and left the lab. Sara looked at the tiny figure curled with his arms around his knees in her pocket. Even miniaturized she could see the misery.

She put the thingamabob down and began walking. 

“Where are we going?” came the small squeak from her pocket.

“The one place she won’t think to look,” she said as she turned the corner toward her quarters.

 

______________

“Oh my god. That was amazing,” Sara said, with a slight shudder of pleasure.

Ray sat on the floor, the ATOM suit scattered in bits around them. He licked the spoon and sighed at the sight of his empty bowl. Then he looked at Sara’s last bite of ice cream and she snarled, “Not if you want to live.”

He grinned. “I liked the sprinkles.”

When she had brought back the ice cream, she carried his plain vanilla with fudge sundae and her own lavish cup with nearly every topping possible. Once he saw the sprinkles, she had to go back and get sprinkles on his. Worth it though, to see how happy the dork was. 

Now he looked around her quarters. 

“You don’t have many personal items,” he said.

“You learn to travel light in the League of Assassins,” she said. 

“Still, you’re not in the League anymore, you should have trinkets.”

“Like a lucky vase?” she asked.

She regretted the mention as his eyes darkened again. Damn.

“What makes it lucky?” she asked.

“I won it at the county fair and since the game was completely rigged it was pretty lucky. Although Kendra has a better arm than me, she probably could have won it herself. And in less than ten tries,” he said, sounding ridiculously proud of the woman he spent two years in the 1950’s loving. “She played softball in school. I was a nerd,” he told Sara as though this might be news.

Sara laughed. “I mostly smoked pot and hung out with bad boys.”

Ray frowned. “I thought your father is Captain Lance?”

“Kids of cops and pastors, always the worst,” she said.

He digested that for a moment, then something caught his eye. “Oh a sword!” he said like a happy child. He gripped the ancient sword and swung it as she winced. He was lucky he didn’t put out an eye. 

“That’s it. You need some combat training. You’re not always going to have your super suit in a fight. And we can’t constantly be saving your ass, fine as it is,” she muttered.

He grinned. “Cool!”

An actual child, she thought as she pulled the other sword off the wall and touched it to his. 

“The first move is to learn defense,” she said.


	5. Road Trip

Rip called the team together and announced, “We might have another clue to Kendra’s bracelet.”

Mick groaned and Len snorted. 

“We’ve killed the evil despot, found Carter and are evading the Time Masters,” Len said. “While I am the first guy to show interest in a pricy bauble, do we really want to risk going after this one? After all, the last mission just added an ancient Egyptian prince with a god complex.”

Sara tried not to snicker but they were all feeling the frustration of adding Carter back into their somewhat cohesive team and the problems it had added.

Rip nodded. “Miss Saunders still believes the bracelet to be important and we might enjoy this field trip. 1924 New York, the age of speakeasies and prohibition.”

“So you want to send us to the era when alcohol was banned because why?” Mick growled.

Rip waved their concerns away and pulled up a holographic image. The black and white photograph showed three men and a woman in front of a bar.

Ray said out loud, “Oh! Oh my god. That’s Texas Guinan.”

“Correct Dr. Palmer,” Rip answered.

Martin sighed in pleasure. “The grand dame of New York’s seedy underbelly during prohibition. She was famous for her 300 Club and greeting her guests by shouting, ‘Hello suckers!’”

“And, if you’ll notice her wrist...”

Gideon zoomed in on the picture and there, on Guinan’s wrist, was a bracelet that looked distinctly familiar.

Ray looked up beaming. “Road trip!”


	6. Flappers and Raccoon Coats

Mick, Len, and Sara walked along 54th Street in Manhattan, dodging Henry Ford’s rattling, puffing inventions, women in flapper dresses and men in fancy dress. The area bustled with after-hours activity and Sara reminded herself to compliment Gideon on their wardrobes. From Mick in his raccoon coat to Sara’s drop waist dress and beaded headband, they seemed to blend in with the crowd. 

Sort of, she thought as she tried to keep an eye on their ridiculously excited companions. It was a toss-up who was more enthralled, Ray who was frightening the locals with his happy greetings or Martin who simply glowed with pleasure as he drank in their surroundings.

The team had already been regaled with more information than they wanted to know while they were fitting their wardrobes. 

Ray: “This is the height of decadence. Five years before the stock market crash.”

Martin: “The average salary was $100 a month but admission to the best club could cost $20.”

Ray: “Jazz was taking off and clubs fought to have the best talent. Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, Bix Biederbecke, Jelly Roll Morton.” At this he had sighed in sheer pleasure.

Martin: “Many of the top clubs had family members or friends on the police department so even though they postured about cracking down on alcohol, the police secretly helped the clubs survive.”

Sara had bustled them out the Waverider door before Mick could pull the trigger he had been caressing. 

Now, Mick and Len pulled their hats lower as they approached a foot patrol police officer. Ray opened his mouth, clearly ready to greet them but yelped softly when Sara pinched him. She tucked her arm in his and whispered, “You really suck at keeping a low profile.”

He looked chastened enough that Sara sighed, then smiled at him, “Darling, I simply must have a new dress for the party and if I get a new dress, then I must have a new hat,” she said as they passed the officer who noted the shapely turn of Sara’s ankles.

Ray hesitated for only a second before he said, “Why of course my love. You may have anything you want.”

Len snorted, walking ahead of them and Sara was pretty sure she heard Mick growl. She glanced around and cursed silently. 

“Where’s the professor?” she asked.

Ray looked too, then grinned broadly. He tipped his head across the street to the evening newspaper hawker. Professor Stein purchased the paper with the newly minted coins Gideon had provided them.

As he rejoined them, they stopped at the corner. He held up the front page with the banner headline, “Shootout at Warehouse District! Whiskey Bootleggers Suspected!”

His happy grin preceded his proclamation, “Fabulous!”


	7. Satchmo

They reached the address Gideon had given them and saw the crowd lingering outside, waiting for a chance to squeeze into the darkened building. 

“I’m pretty sure they didn’t have fire codes back then,” Ray muttered. “And if they did, they weren’t enforced.” With this he shot Mick a warning look. Snart smirked.

Ray pushed to the front of the line and pulled out the wad of bills. The bouncer at the door shook his head. “No way pal. Place is full.”

Ray began to peel off bills and after several bills, Sara wondered how much they paid bouncers or if the professor had been wrong about how much a month’s salary was in 1924.

Sara noticed Leonard and Mick disappearing around the building corner and pulled Ray away from the obstinate bouncer.

She led Ray and Martin down the alley and saw Snart disappear behind some wooden crates. She kept one eye out for danger and one toward her brilliant but hopeless charges. She needed to talk to Gideon about hazard pay.

They met up with Snart as he seemed in the same process with the back door bouncer. When several offered bills didn’t have any more luck, she noted Mick’s finger twitching. 

Before they could do anything to disrupt the timeline, the door opened and several young men tumbled into the alleyway. 

“Hey Louie, give me a smoke,” one of the men called to his friend.

The group began good-natured banter with the bouncer and Sara wondered the fastest way to make friends with a group of young black men in this era. She doubted being approached by a white woman would make any of them feel comfortable. 

And she wondered at the, “Oh my god,” Ray softly uttered. He looked at the group with such reverence Sara wondered if they had stumbled upon the geek holy grail. Maybe the kids were famous physicists? They didn’t look like bookworms, she thought.

Martin breathed in the same reverent tone, “Amazing.”

The two star-struck geniuses didn’t appear able to form coherent sentences, let alone charm the young men into taking them into the club with them. She glanced at Len but before he could cozy up to the group, two men joined them. 

“Hey Louie, got a minute?” one of them growled. 

Sara sized up the newcomers as about fifty miles of bad cobblestone road and wondered what the young man had gotten himself into.

Louie shook his head. “I got nothing to say to you,” he replied in a voice like whiskey rolled over marbles.

“Well, we got something to say to you,” the other newcomer growled and moved forward. Len stepped between them and a scuffle ensued. Before Sara could reach the melee, one of the new oafs had flung a hard swing at Len. Len ducked and Sara saw it coming in time to sidestep. Louie did not. The young man’s eyes rolled up before he crumpled into the dirty alley.

The bouncer beat back the two thugs with a baseball bat and shouted, “Look what you’ve done! Tex is gonna have your head!”

The ruffians fled and Ray bent over the young man. “Mr. Armstrong, are you okay?” He gently tapped the young man’s face while Sara did a double take at the youth sprawled in the dirt. As he stirred, she breathed a sigh of relief. She was pretty sure killing the father of jazz would be a bad thing for the timeline.

The young Louis Armstrong sat up, dazed, and rubbed his jaw. “Damn. I think he loothened my tooth!” he said with a new lisp.

“Satch, can you play?” the bouncer asked, worried. “If you can’t play, Tex is gonna kill me.”

The famous Satchmo gingerly ran his tongue over his teeth, then winced. “I better not,” he said.

The bouncer kicked a rock, bouncing it off the neighboring building. “What the hell are we gonna do for a trumpet player?” he asked. “The place is packed tonight with folks expecting to hear some of your best songs.”

Ray held up his hand. “I can play.”

Sara normally found his boundless enthusiasm exhausting but endearing. Right now, she was torn between strangling him or kissing him for thinking of a way in. Heaven help them if they didn’t find the bracelet before he actually had to play. She knew the boy scout was good at a lot of things but filling in for one of the greatest trumpet players of all time was probably not on the list. 

“Wait right here,” one of Armstrong’s companions said. He was back in a minute holding a trumpet. 

Damn, Sara thought and gave Ray a sympathetic look. It was a good effort but now they were really screwed. 

Ray took the instrument and fingered the keys reverently. “I knew you played a Selmer later, but this is totally amazing. A B flat cornet. Who would have thought!”

Sara and Len shared a nervous look but the musician seemed a little too dazed to pay attention to the weird guy fondling his instrument. Ray put the brass to his lips and gave a few tentative toots. He took a breath before smiling at Sara reassuringly and playing. 

Sara recognized “Dream a Little Dream of Me” before hearing Martin’s groan. He clapped a hand over his eyes and Sara assumed the song hadn’t been written yet. Well, that was what happened when they followed Snart down a dark alley, she thought. 

After a minute, the young men began to excitedly talk with Ray and while she was used to his conversations going over her head, it was annoying that a conversation about music had the same effect. They pulled Ray through the door and he was nearly through before he remembered the team and waved at the bouncer, “They’re with me.”

“Heaven help us,” Martin whispered.


	8. Tex and the Professor

They entered the smoky, dark building and jostled through a parade of scantily-clad young women. 

A skinny guy grabbed Sara. “Hey doll, you’re late. Grab a dress and get in line.”

Martin sputtered in indignation but Sara nodded. “Right away,” she told the harried stage manager with a smile. She hissed to Len, “Watch the professor. Do Not Let Him Out Of Your Sight!” she said, punctuating her words with a poke in his chest.

“Absolutely,” he grinned. 

Right, Sara thought. She shot Len a murderous look before looking at the hoard of women. It was too good a chance, so she followed a couple women into a room and found a dress that fell scandalously above her knees- for 1924. She pulled down a massive feather from the wardrobe pile and slid her telescoping baton along the quill. A girl never knew when she might need a weapon, she reasoned.

She had no idea what routines they were expected to do but she could adlib with the best of them on a dance floor so she followed the group. The manager grabbed her and pushed her toward the steps onto the crowded club floor. 

The club band struck up a flirty song and she followed the prancing women who sashayed into the crowd, shaking their feathers and beads at wealthy patrons. Sara saw Len’s eyes widen at the sight of her shaking her assets but she was too busy trying not to break the many wandering hands along the way.

After a couple of dances a spotlight lit up the piano and she saw a sleek woman draped over the grand instrument. A cheer of “Texas!” roared through the crowd and Sara had to give the peroxide blonde credit. She had real stage presence. She must to run a rowdy place like this.

Guinan sang a sultry song, pouring sex into every word. The crowd’s attention was riveted to their famous host. So were their teammates at the bar, she noted with a scowl. She noticed Martin was no where to be found, then bumped into the dancer she had been following. 

“Hey, pay attention!” the young woman hissed.

“Sorry,” Sara whispered.

She followed the shimmering dancers backstage and heard a hearty command from the piano. “Give the little ladies a great big hand!”

She was about to go in search of Martin when she spotted him. He was making his way to the brassy club owner. “Oh crap,” she muttered and skittered across the curtained stage as fast as she could. When she arrived though, she was shocked to hear Martin explain. 

“As I’ve said, Doc Palmer has been filling the clubs in St Louis for the past several months. Try him out and if you don’t like his style, we can forego any further discussion of payment.”

Texas Guinan sized up the dapper gentleman before her before throwing back her head and laughing. “All right Mister. We’ll give your boy a spin. If he’s not as good as you say, this crowd will eat him alive.”

Guinan made her way to the stage and held up a hand for silence. “I know you all were expecting to hear a great group tonight and we have just that. Live from Saint Louie, where they’ve been pleasing crowds and breaking hearts, it’s Doc Palmer and his Hot Five!” 

Sara saw Ray walk on stage, looking more dork than sexy heartbreaker and thought they’d better work fast.

“Did she have the bracelet?” she asked Martin when she reached him.

Stein shook his head. “No, but her apartment is on the upper floor.”

Sara glanced toward Len and motioned toward the ceiling. He caught her meaning and moved with Mick toward the back. If the bracelet could be found, she trusted the thieves could handle it. She was more worried about the crowd reaction to the guy with three PhDs tapping his foot on stage. 

He nodded to the group and began to play. Sara held her breath until she saw people smiling and the club return to its noisy hub of conversation.

Martin was not as impressed. “Oh good grief. Does he not know any songs from before the World War?”

“Which one,” Sara asked, amused.

“The second one!” he snapped. 

“Well at least no one here will fuss about his stealing their material,” she told him.

Martin looked at her for a moment then relaxed. A grin spread over his face. “I met Texas Guinan.”

“You negotiated a business deal with Texas Guinan,” Sara told him. “And maybe even flirted a little.”

The professor looked scandalized. “I would never!”

“Oh come on professor. A little flirting is good for the soul. It’ll make you appreciate Clarissa that much more.”

He sighed. “Gosh she would love this.”

Sara patted his shoulder and said, “I gotta get out of this dress. I don’t think they’ve invented deodorant yet. Or dry cleaners,” she said, wrinkling her nose.


	9. It Just Never Goes According to Plan

Sara tapped her foot nervously as she counted the minutes. The stage manager had caught her and directed her toward a table of suits. She barely paid attention to them as she looked for Mick and Len. The thieves had not reappeared and every time she lost sight of Texas, she worried. After one of the suits got a little handsy, she flirtatiously told them to have a good evening and moved away before she broke all his fingers.

“He’th good.” The throaty voice from her side nearly made her jump. Armstrong was watching Ray.

She glanced at one of the greatest jazz legends of all time and smiled. “Not as good as you,” she said. “He’s a huge fan of yours.”

The young man grinned. Sara thought he might be mid-twenties and wondered where he was in his incredible career arc. Maybe she should spend more time reading Gideon’s history archives and less time polishing swords, she thought. Then she glanced at the dork on the stage and sighed. Maybe not give up her weapons practice entirely.

“If he plans on staying around, he needs to be careful,” Louis said. He held a chunk of ice wrapped in a towel on his jaw. 

“I ‘m sure he’ll avoid alley brawls,” she said. Then she remembered Ray had started on this path in an alley when his first fiancé had been killed. Definitely keep practicing, she thought, as she wondered how he could still be such a joyful kid at heart. She had a sneaking suspicion that the thieves had started to feel equally protective of Ray but they would probably rather stab their eyes out than admit it.

Louis dabbed his jaw and said, “There’s a turf war in the boroughs between a couple bothes who control the entertainment. Those two men were trying to convince me to thign with Boss Randall.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Sara asked.

“He takes most of your cut, books you at too many gigs and controls everything you do,” he explained. “I thought Chicago was bad and wanted to try thomething new but we’re ready to go back. We were leaving after the show tonight.”

Sara sighed. It was just never easy with this team, was it?

“I’m sure his manager will keep an eye out,” she said as she wondered where Martin had made off to. Honestly, it was like tracking children with these guys.

“If he lives. The manager of the new group at the Cotton Club just had an accident. Off a ten story building.”

Damn. She glanced around for Martin again. And where the hell was Snart, she thought, hoping they might actually get out of just one mission without screwing up the timeline. 

Ray stopped between songs and leaned toward the pretty woman playing the piano. He smiled happily and began playing a song the rest of the group knew. 

Louis sighed. “If he keeps flirting with my missus, he won’t have to worry about Randall though.”

Sara touched his arm. “He’s a friendly boy. Besides, he just had his heart broken so he’s probably not looking for romance.”

“That explains it,” Armstrong said. “Players always play better when they’re in love or broken. And my Lil is definitely one to break your heart.”

She gave him a sympathetic look and tried not to worry about the boys upstairs. Eventually the set ended and Sara saw Texas Guinan walk toward Ray like a Hollywood sex siren. He, of course, was oblivious, smiling like a kid at Christmas as she pressed against his side. Before Sara could reach them, they had disappeared. 

She thought she saw a flash of Tex’s dress on the back stairs just when the stage manager caught her and shoved her toward the line of dancing girls. Bloody hell.


	10. Tex and the Other Professor

Len didn’t get upset about much but he was starting to feel really frustrated with their search for this damned bracelet. They had looked through the woman’s jewelry box, drawers, and desk, and Mick had just opened her safe and snorted in disgust at the old timey money wads. There were a few pretty baubles and Mick helped himself to the brightest as a souvenir. But where was the bracelet?

They were about to give up when they heard footsteps on the landing outside the apartment and then looked at each other in disbelief when they heard the Boy Scout’s voice.

“I don’t really need to be paid,” they heard him say. Mick snorted in disgust. 

The door to the apartment opened a split second after Mick and Len had scrambled behind the dressing screen separating the bedroom from the small but elegant living room. They looked at each other in question as the dork and the sex maven walked in.

“Aw sweetie,” the blonde cooed as she backed the big man across the room. He stumbled at the edge of the couch and sat down abruptly. Tex joined him, practically sitting on his lap.

“You are just the most adorable hunk of man,” she breathed.

“Uhm, thank you,” he said. “I think you’re pretty wonderful too. You know, for a famous criminal.”

Len palmed his forehead softly while Mick bit back a snort. 

Tex, however, was amused. “I swear, you are just cute enough to eat.” 

Len’s eyebrow arched as Tex’s hands began to move over Palmer's shoulders and she let out a breathy sigh. “I never knew a musician to be in such fine shape,” she said.

“You know, health and fitness are important,” the Boy Scout squeaked.

They couldn’t see where her hand had moved but they could guess from Palmer’s yelp and Len wondered how the lovely Tex might react to a cold-hearted thief if he tried his hand at seduction. The lady was certainly in the mood from the way the brainiac was squirming.

“Uhm, Miss Guinan,” Ray said, capturing her hand. “I don’t think that is such a good idea.”

Tex looked confused for a moment. Then she said, “You don’t like women sweetie?” with dawning understanding.

“No. I mean yes, I like women, I just, well gosh, ma’am. It’s just that you’re a legend. And when I say legend, I mean, really. You’re famous.”

Mick was starting to pantomime beating his head on the wall. Len figured it was a good thing Boy Scout was a billionaire because otherwise he would never get laid. Yet, for some reason, the sexy siren trying to undress him seemed to be even more impassioned as he babbled. That hand crept out of sight again and Ray’s voice went up a full octave.

“You don’t happen to like science fiction do you?” he asked, a bit breathless.

She gave him a confused look. “What’s that sweetie?”

He thought for a moment. “It’s like Buck Rogers. No wait, that’s not for a couple more years. They’re stories like the westerns that you made movies about but they have aliens and space ships?”

She had paused now, looking at him as though he was an alien from a space ship. Len tried to remember the last time he was this entertained but sadly, knew he should intervene before this got any more out of hand.

Ray continued. “Because you’re the kind of woman that will some day have a famous character named after her on a TV show and well,” he stammered, then blushed. “You don’t know what that is but believe me, it’s very cool and come to think of it,” he said, pausing in his squirming, “your voice is a lot like Whoopi Goldberg’s so how cool is that?” He ended on a nervous giggle.

Even the ardent Tex was getting a bit lost by this and Len figured it was time to make an appearance and rescue the dumbass before he said something that totally screwed up the timeline... again.

Before he could step forward though, the door burst open. The two thugs from the alley moved into the room. Texas stood up and smoothed her dress. 

“Butch, what do you think you’re doing, busting into my place like this?”

“We warned you Tex. If you kept using talent without Randall’s permission, it was going to cost you,” one of the men growled. He held up a gun and pointed it at her. Ray pushed her aside and charged forward. The gunshot echoed in the room, deafening in the closed space.

 

______________________

On board the Waverider, Kendra paced nervously. The team had refused to wear earpieces after Rip’s meltdown over the iPod and now she glanced at her watch for the hundredth time. She knew they were fine. Mick and Len had amazing survival instincts and Sara would bring the boys back. Especially Ray, but still, she worried.

She knew it had been tough on him lately and she wiped a tear away as she thought about how badly she had hurt him. She still didn’t know what to do with Carter since he mostly annoyed her but she was a little hurt that Ray had thrown in the towel so quickly on their relationship. Rip stopped his pacing for a moment to give her arm a gentle squeeze, then continuing to stride around the pilot’s console. 

Kendra knew the team had been working hard to distract Ray and somehow the mess of her love life had bonded the team in ways that capturing Vandal Savage had not. 

She bit her lip, wondering if she had sent them on a stupid mission that might get one of them hurt, just because she was trying to keep Ray and Carter apart before one of them took a swing and the fragile team disintegrated. She glanced at the picture of the bracelet, thinking what a bad idea this was. Then she froze. 

“Rip!”

He stopped and looked at where she pointed. 

“What the hell?” he murmured.


	11. Mushrooms!

When the world’s dumbest genius pushed Tex out of the way, Len was already sprinting forward, shouting at Mick, “Don’t start a fire!” All he needed was to kill a future president or some other time-important jerk in this death trap. 

He really didn’t want to hear the Brit berating them for the next week about burning down this place with a bunch of celebrities trapped inside. It wasn’t that he cared; he just didn’t want the hassle.

Mick swung his gun at one of the thugs' head, connecting with a satisfying ‘thunk’. Len aimed his freeze gun as the first bad guy pulled the trigger on his revolver. The cold gun shot an icy blast forward as the bullet sped toward Ray. It caught the bullet, the bad guy, and from the big guy’s yelp, the genius as well.

Len bent over the bad guy and kicked his gun away. It wasn’t necessary. The guy would not be harassing anyone else in the future. He saw Palmer favoring his frozen arm as he helped Tex to her feet.

“Miss Guinan, are you okay?” Palmer asked.

The blonde was made of sturdy stuff as she nodded. “Thanks to you sweetie. You saved me,” she said. She touched his arm. “Did he shoot you?” She then noticed the two men standing in her apartment. “And who the hell are you?”

“I’m the guy who really saved your life,” Snart told her. “He just got his ass kicked,” he said, tilting his head toward Ray.

Her eyes narrowed and he sighed. Just what was the Boy Scout’s appeal with this woman?

“What do you want?” she asked.

“We’re here for a bracelet,” Mick told her. “Gold, very old.” He waved his finger around his wrist to show the design.

Texas glowered at him. “Why should I tell you anything?”

Ray sighed, “It belongs to a friend of ours and we need to get it back to her.”

She looked at the three, then turned toward Ray. “You’re with them?”

Ray nodded apologetically. “I’m sorry.”

Texas Guinan looked at Dr. Ray Palmer for a long moment. “She worth it?” Texas asked.

Ray looked confused for a moment before nodding sheepishly. “Yes ma’am.”

She sighed and patted his good arm. “I’m a sucker for a good love story.” Then she won Len’s approval back by swearing. “I should have known that jerk wouldn’t give me such a pretty bauble unless it was stolen.”

She raised her hands, giving them an apologetic look. “I wish I could help you boys but the bracelet disappeared last week. I suspect the no good bouncer I hired but he’s long gone and so is the bracelet.”

“Damn,” Len said. All of this effort and they came up empty-handed. “If that’s the case, we'll just be leaving, Miss Guinan.” 

He moved closer to her and gave her his best smoldering look. “If you could give us a head start before sending your goons after us, we’ll just call this even,” he told her, nodding toward the bodies in her living room.

She sighed. “I suppose that’s only fair, since Doc here saved me.”

Mick snorted in amusement and Len sighed. “We better get that arm looked at, Doc,” he told Ray. Not that he cared, but he didn’t need any lectures from Rip and Sara about damaging the Boy Scout.

Mick picked up a decanter of whiskey and winked at Tex, eliciting an exasperated sigh from the former silent film actress. She had atrocious taste in men but she was a good sport as she let them leave without any trouble. 

They met Sara on the stairs and her eyes narrowed at the sight of Ray holding his arm and wincing. Len was too used to life not being fair to explain that he had actually saved the dumbass.

They rounded up Martin next and made their way out of the famous speakeasy. Mick gave it one last, longing look before they disappeared into the alley and headed toward the Waverider.

____________________

“Ray!” Kendra cried out as they approached the ship. “What happened?”

Len waited for the Boy Scout to tattle but the guy was fair, an idiot, but fair. “I got in the way when Len was trying to save me.”

Rip looked at Snart in surprise and Len figured he would rather be yelled at then have them think he was trying to save the idiot.

“Where is Miss Lance?” Rip asked as he looked out the ship’s door and realized they were one short. 

“She said she had to pick something up. She’d just be a minute,” Len said.

Rip thumped his head against the side of the ship, muttering, “Of course she did.”

It was closer to an hour before Sara appeared, carrying a large cardboard box that smelled incredible. By then Gideon had regenerated Ray’s arm tissue and Leonard had explained to Kendra why they didn’t have the bracelet. 

Rip had also explained to the team that they had their next assignment. “Egypt.”

“Why?” Len asked.

“Because while you were nearly killing Dr. Palmer, the strangest thing happened,” Rip explained, ignoring Len’s irritated sigh. 

Rip continued, “The bracelet began to fluctuate in the picture. It actually disappeared for a moment. That is a very rare anomaly and we need to go back to the one time we know that bracelet existed. Egypt, a few days before Vandal Savage attacked Kendra and Carter.”

“Then we better keep our strength up,” Sara said, leading the way to the galley. 

As Sara put the box down in the galley, the rest of team gathered around. She pulled out boxes of steaming pasta, meatballs and Chicken Marsala. 

She explained, “There was a restaurant my dad took me to once when we visited New York. He said it had been around a hundred years and he wasn’t kidding. Best Italian food I’ve ever had,” she said. 

Ray appeared and she handed him a heaping plate of Chicken Marsala.

“That is a lot of mushrooms,” Martin said.

“It’s okay. Ray loves mushrooms,” Kendra said.

Sara snorted and Ray looked sheepish. He took a deep breath and said, “Actually I hate mushrooms.”

Kendra looked at him in amazement. “But you put mushrooms in everything when we were in the fifties.”

Ray nodded. “Because you like them. I hate them.” He looked at Carter for a moment before grinning. “I guess I don’t have to eat mushrooms any more,” he said, cheerfully. 

Sara handed him a plate of meatballs and took his mushroom bonanza.

As Ray left the group to work in his lab, Sara tried to hand Kendra the mushroom-laden dish. 

Kendra refused the plate, her hand covering her mouth as a giggle escaped. 

Carter looked confused and said, “But Kendra doesn’t like mushrooms either. She hates them.”

Sara grinned. “I know. I spent weeks stealing them off her plate without Ray noticing.”

“So both of you were eating a food you hate,” Martin said, “because...”

Kendra’s shoulders shook. “Because the first time he made a casserole, he put mushrooms in it and I told him it was great.” Another giggle escaped. “After that, I didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth.”

Martin looked at Sara as she forked a generous helping of chicken and mushrooms into her mouth. “But you knew they both hated mushrooms. Why didn’t you say something?”

Sara swallowed. “I like mushrooms,” she said simply. 

Martin, Jax and Rip looked at each other before bursting out laughing. 

“Ah, young love,” Martin said.

Carter dished up his second helping of spaghetti. “I would have just said something,” he said, oblivious to the looks this generated. 

“I know,” Kendra said softly, giving him a long look before turning to leave. They heard a soft giggle as she shook her head and walked out of sight. 

As the crew finished and left the galley, Sara and Rip disposed of the feast’s remains. 

Rip looked at her for a moment before saying softly, “Well played Miss Lance. Well played.”


	12. Slaves and Trumpets

Sara left Rip’s office as he continued to press Kendra and Carter for information on the origin of her bracelet. Sara thought at this point they were beating a dead horse. Both of them remembered each other and their final moments together in that first life but the rest of their oldest previous lives tended to feel like “watching an old movie reel,” according to Kendra.

Kendra just remembered wearing the bracelet when she died. Carter wasn’t much more help. 

“A slave gave it to her,” he said. “He said it was a token of appreciation for the priestess, but I think he was kind of in love with her. Everyone was,” he said, with a touch of boastfulness that made Sara itch for her practice sword.

“What do you remember about the slave? What happened to him?” Martin pressed.

Carter shrugged. “I ordered him executed for his impudence. I don’t remember what happened after that.”

The group looked at him in horror. He grimaced. “It was the law. He violated the sacred temple and addressed the high priestess. He knew the penalties.”

Martin glowered at him. “Like you knew the penalties for, I don’t know, falling in love with her?” He was practically shouting.

Carter sighed. “You don’t understand. Things were different then. They will be different again. As time travelers, you need to learn to adapt.”

Sara had walked away before she gave in to the urge to test some of her favorite assassin moves. Not because she didn’t want to skewer him, but because he didn’t deserve to die that quickly.

As she walked past Ray’s quarters, she heard the trumpet playing again. Ray and Gideon must have found recordings of those songs he played in 1924. She pushed the door buzzer. 

Ray welcomed her in and she looked in surprise at the trumpet in his hand. 

“Did Gideon replicate that?”

He grinned happily. “No, it was here when we returned. I found it on my bed. It’s the actual trumpet I played with the Hot Five.”

She nodded, searching his face. “Do you want to return it to Mr. Armstrong?”

Ray clutched the horn protectively. “Gideon assured me that Louie changed trumpets regularly.”

“Ah,” Sara said. She thought for a moment. “I wonder who...”

“Mick?” Ray said tentatively.

“Len?” Sara said, equally tentative. 

Ray shrugged, happy to enjoy his mysterious gift. He glanced up and asked, “How goes the mission planning?”

Sara shook her head. “Slim leads. Flying blind. The usual.”

Ray nodded. “Do you think we should be going?”

“I think Rip is worried. In a way I haven’t seen him worried before. It’s like the bracelet has become a puzzle he can’t quite figure out.” She considered. “To be honest, I think it spooked him when it did the magical disappearing act.”

Ray nodded. “I have wondered about that. Martin and I have tried to figure out how- like if something coincidently changed in ancient Egypt while we were in the twenties. Maybe something with Vandal Savage.” He fingered the trumpet. “But whatever it was, didn’t last because the bracelet reappeared and Gideon says the timeline has remained unchanged as far as she can tell.”

Sara patted his shoulder. “Well, play on Doc. We’ll know the other answers to the universe soon enough.”

He grinned and began to play. Sara left his quarters smiling.


	13. Egypt

“We don’t dare send Kendra or Carter in, in case they meet their doppelgangers,” Rip explained as he discussed his decision to send only three team members into Egypt in 2011 B.C. 

“Actually, they are the doppelgangers,” Ray corrected, nodding at their hawk teammates. The team gave him a collective side eye and he bit his lip before saying anything else.

“Mr. Jackson will be a visiting leader with Ray and Sara as his servants,” Rip said.

Carter snorted. The team glared at him.

“They would have been slaves. If he is royalty, he would travel with slaves.”

Sara’s fingers itched, reaching for a sword that didn’t hang on her belt anymore. Maybe it was a good thing she didn’t still wear it. 

“How many blonde women do you think they’ve seen?” Martin asked.

Sara held up the bottle of hair color. “Gideon thought of that. I always wondered what Goth might be like.”

Mick snorted. “Kinda more kickass than usual, I’m guessing.”

The rest of the team grinned. 

“Why not send Mr. Snart and Mr. Rory in?” Martin asked. 

“I don’t think we need anything stolen and we definitely do not need a brawl, shootout or other disaster. This time is rather peaceful for this region. Let’s not screw that up,” Rip responded.

He handed earbuds to the small team. “And these are not negotiable. You are in a time 4000 years ago and we don’t know enough about the culture to know what mistakes to avoid. At my word, you have to promise to pull back. There are so many things that can go wrong.”

“Why this time?” Sara asked.

“Kendra remembers wearing the bracelet at a harvest celebration three weeks before the meteorite struck. We just need to make sure she has that bracelet and the earliest timeline hasn’t wavered. With Vandal Savage dead and the time masters in disarray, it should be safe, but something,” he pointed to the picture of the bracelet, “something is still in fluctuation. If there are time travelers interfering before Vandal Savage, or Hath-Set as he was known then, kills Carter and Kendra, it could interfere with their ability to reincarnate. We need to make sure the timeline isn’t being manipulated.”

All eyes turned toward Mick. “I swear, it’s not Chronos, or an earlier version of me. I never traveled to Egypt.”

The team prepared for their mission and Rip set the Waverider down near a road leading to the metropolis. 

___________________________

They arrived as masses of souls moved toward the city. Sara was amazed at how vast the city was and looked at Ray. She expected giddy excitement but he looked tense. He had asked Gideon to translate for them as they proceeded and adapt their language capsules on the fly. Now the AI navigated them through the crowd. 

There was an expectation that so many visitors would mean a tolerance toward less than perfect language skills. Apparently the time masters had quite a language repository from various study missions in human history but still, 4000 years was a long time ago, Sara thought. 

She also felt a bit like the science nerds as she realized she was in ancient Egypt! She had always wanted to visit the pyramids; now she could watch some of them being built. 

In their ears, Gideon pointed out various languages, styles of dress and social status represented in the crowd. Egypt was a pretty happening place, Sara realized. Vendors along the road hawked precious oils, spices, statues of gods and even jewelry and trinkets.

The atmosphere reminded Sara a bit of when the county fair would come to Starling City. She noted with the surprise the lush landscaping they met as they entered the city gate. Gardens and fountains, more elaborate than anything she had seen before, stretched before them. In the distance, Gideon pointed out the temple. 

“The priests and priestesses would live within the temple compound,” she explained. "You need to find a way into their sanctuary and determine if Kendra has the bracelet.”

They heard Carter mutter. “They won’t make it past the temple courtyard without a special invitation and they definitely won’t be able to reach CHAY-ARA,” he said with emphasis.

“Perhaps you could offer a suggestion on how to accomplish our mission?” Rip asked, sounding exasperated. 

Sara had wondered at Carter’s lack of help on this mission. Kendra’s memories were so sketchy that she only remembered seeing the bracelet on her arm during the festival but little else about her first life. Carter didn’t offer any help, whether because he didn’t remember or he was just an ass, Sara couldn’t tell.

They moved forward, pushing their way through the crowd, following Ray’s big form as he cut a path, apologizing as he went. Sara sighed. If he didn’t get them killed, he would win an award for Mr. Congeniality.

She ran into Ray’s broad back when he stopped suddenly. Jax muttered and tried to appear cool but Sara could tell he was as affected as she felt by their surroundings. He recovered though and glowered at Ray, saying in a harsh tone, “What is your problem, slave?”

Sara hid her smile and thought from Ray’s expression he wanted to congratulate their young teammate for filling his role. She sighed. Definitely get them killed.

Ray nudged her and nodded to Jax. “The woman with the golden headdress.” They looked at a nearby entourage, saw her, and then noted several bracelets on her arm, including one that looked incredibly familiar.

“Gideon,” Ray said quietly. “Can you tell us anything about this woman?”

Gideon responded within seconds. “She is most likely Ethiopian nobility from her dress and language.”

“Oh man,” Jax said. “She’s beautiful.”

“And surrounded by suitors,” Sara noted.

“I got this,” Jax said. Before they could stop him, he cut through the crowd and bowed before the young woman. They could hear Gideon frantically coaching him on protocol as he greeted the woman. 

A team of ferocious men stepped between them and Sara wondered how well trained Ethiopian bodyguards were four thousand years ago. They reached in unison to the heavy swords on their belts. Well trained, apparently. 

Jax held up his hands. “I apologize. I forget myself but I was overcome by your mistress’s beauty. I have never seen such a treasure.”

The swords stayed sheathed for a moment as Sara held her breath. He continued to heap flattery on the young woman, repeating the quite poetic words Gideon gave as prompts. Who knew Gideon was such a romantic, Sara thought. 

A slender hand tapped one of the guards and he stepped aside, still vigilant. The young woman motioned for Jax to walk with her and he smiled his thanks. 

As Jax flirted with the woman, Sara thought she would have to practice her rarely used pickpocket skills from the League. If she failed, she was dead, she guessed, looking at the guards. 

The suitors who had been pandering did not like being relegated to the pack and shot Jax murderous looks. 

We just have a real gift at making friends everywhere we go, Sara thought.

The woman, Princess Abebeche, asked a question about Sara and Jax explained she was his spiritual advisor. Sara heard Len’s snort in her ear and thought if they survived this, she needed to practice some ancient swordplay until he was ready to pray.

Abebeche looked at Sara’s silken robes and said something to Jax. Jax snapped his fingers. Sara removed a layer of the luxurious swath and bowed deeply to the woman before draping it over her shoulders. 

As Sara draped the material over the Abebeche’s arm, Ray shoved one of the suitors and he sprawled into the princess. Her guards began to whip the young swain back. Ray instantly looked stricken as the young man yelped.

Before the puppy could apologize, Sara poked his ribs and then dropped the bracelet into his jacket pocket. They moved away as Jax explained he must prepare himself for prayer and joined them. 

“What, no more flirting?” Sara teased.

Jax shuddered. “She’s a kid. She can’t be more than fourteen.”

“Middle aged for this time,” Ray said. 

“You’d be a senior citizen,” Sara joked. 

He considered this. “It makes you want to take advantage of every day, doesn’t it?” 

Sara had lived with him in the ridiculous fifties and his pure soul still made her shake her head sometimes. 

They moved to the side of the road and continued walking as Ray took out the bracelet. It was the first time they could actually see the bauble. Gideon had fashioned cameras in each of their wardrobes so they turned the bracelet over and waited for Kendra’s response. They heard her quick intake of breath.

“Everything okay?” Sara asked as they heard Rip and Martin exclaim in concern.

“Kendra just became faint,” Martin explained. 

Len said, “But the bauble is actually darker in the picture.”

The three away team members looked at each other. 

“Weird,” Sara said. Ray and Jax nodded. 

Ray continued to heft it in his hand. “It’s heavier than gold. More like dwarf star alloy,” he said, referring to the special material in his ATOM suit.

“Or nth metal,” Rip muttered in their ears. “This region had sporadic asteroids for years before the devastation in a few weeks. Perhaps it’s made from the same material as the staff and dagger?”

“Whatever it’s made of, we have to figure out how to get it to Kendra,” Sara reminded them.

“Chay-Ara,” Carter growled, starting to sound petulant. “And good luck with that. She is a high priestess at the temple. She served the gods but is isolated from the masses.”

Sara drawled to her companions, “I presume we’re the masses.” She didn’t appreciate his less-than-helpful attitude any more than she appreciated his still breathing on this earth. 

“Apparently,” Jax said. 

Ray, however, had that faraway look. 

“Whatcha thinkin?” Sara asked.

“Temples get offerings,” he said. “Kendra, what offering would be most valuable to your temple?”

Gideon answered, telling them spices, gold, and jewels would all be considered valuable. Carter explained that while most things were for sale outside the temple, the most valuable offerings are usually brought from afar. 

Jax jangled the heavy purse on his waist. “We have plenty of gold to buy what we need.” 

Gideon responded, “Check Dr. Palmer’s bag.”

Ray opened the bag Gideon had instructed him to carry. He pulled out a large jar and leather bag. The bag contained milky stones. 

“Cabochon carnelian and lapis lazuli,” Martin said.

“They don’t look very valuable,” Len said, seeing the ancient bounty in Ray’s hand. 

“In the days before modern jewel polishing, those were quite valuable,” Rip explained.

Jax took the jar and studied it. Blue, with a raised hawk on one side and bull on the other, it appeared to be ceramic. It was beautiful.

They heard Martin’s excited voice. “Hawk for the god Horus and bull for his murdered father Osiris. Gideon you are genius.”

“Thank you, doctor.” 

The away team wondered if the two could see the collective eye roll.

Jax opened the jar, sniffing. “Cinnamon?”

Gideon explained, “It was quite expensive in this era and used for everything from cooking to burial rituals.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Jax muttered.

“Now we just have to breach the temple courtyard, enter the priestess’s private chambers and get the bracelet to her before Carter’s guards kill us.”

They heard Kendra’s voice saying, “Wait. During the blessing at high noon, everyone’s attention is on the chief priest, Hath-set,” she said. They heard the shudder in her voice at remembering Vandal Savage’s first incarnation. Still, Kendra remembering anything could help at this point.

She asked Carter, “How did you get to my chamber? You weren’t supposed to be there either; there must be a way.”

He answered flatly, “I don’t remember.”

There was a moment of silence as the team wondered if Mick could persuade him to be a bit more helpful. 

Kendra said in a cold voice, “If they are killed, I will never forgive you. In any life.”

The steel in her voice surprised Carter but not the rest of the crew who had watched this young woman from Wisconsin adapt and mature through the ridiculous adventure they shared over the past months. 

Carter sighed. “Fine,” he said, not sounding happy.

Sara and Jax shared a look, wondering what his problem was. 

He began to explain that there was a servant entrance to the priestess’s private chambers. He said that during the blessing, the crowds would surge forward and all members of temple would join the blessing. It was the one time they could sneak inside, and then wait for Chay-Ara to return after the celebration.

“Now we just need to gain entrance to the temple courtyard,” Ray said.

Jax took a couple of the jewels and approached the guard at the gate. He explained they had valuable gifts to offer Horus but the temple guards pocketed the gifts and shoved him aside. 

They heard Carter snort. “Told you. I trained those men myself. They will die to protect Kendra.”

“Chay-Ara,” Sara reminded him. “And did you train them to be thieves?”

They could practically hear his shrug. “Cost of doing business,” he said.

“A little less gloating and a little more helping might be in order,” Martin snarled to Carter.

Sara felt a hand on her arm and tensed. She turned to see the guard from Abebeche’s group. He motioned for them to follow. Oh-oh. Sara wondered if she had discovered her missing bracelets.

“I have never attended the Shemu,” Abebeche said. “My priest died on the way here and was not able to prepare me. I would like to know how to best please Horus.”

Sara looked at her and wondered how they were going to talk their way out of this. She breathed a sigh of relief when Gideon started explaining what she should say.

Sara began to repeat the advice and Abebeche listened carefully. She waved to one of her servants who appeared with a heavy chest. 

They opened the lid and she said in distress, “I brought gold and incense but we have heard that Horus prefers the spices you mention.” She looked worried as she continued. “My father has been ill for some time and I had hoped Horus could help him.” Her young voice trembled.

Ray handed Jax the jar and Jax knelt before her. “I would be honored if you would offer this for your father. I lost my father as a baby so I can share your concern.”

Abebeche opened the jar and sniffed, then closed it with a reverent sigh. “Please, how may I thank you?”

Jax said, “We would like to attend the blessing to pray for our families as well but the guards wouldn’t let us in.”

She nodded. “We had to send a request for admission days ago and offer much gold.”

Sara thought it might have been nice to have that heads up and wondered again what was Carter’s problem.

Abebeche held out her hand and Jax walked with her to the guards, who admitted them this time without a problem. 

The massive courtyard looked like a fancy garden at an English estate, Sara thought. At least she thought it did. She really needed to travel more, she decided. If she survived this trip. 

The crowd propelled them toward the temple where Hath-Set would soon appear. She and Ray pulled aside. Sara said, “Give me the bracelet.”

“No, I’ll do it,” he argued. “If anything goes wrong, you need to get Jax back to the Waverider safely.”

She sighed. What he said was logical but frustrating. Rip’s insistence on a small team suddenly seemed like a bad thing. She wouldn’t mind having Martin along to pull his fiery duo with Jax in case something went awry. And with this group, something usually did.


	14. Busted

Ray knew Sara hated being left behind but it didn’t make sense for all of them to risk entering Kendra’s chambers. This way, at least she and Jax had a chance of getting out. He watched the crowd squashed into the courtyard, waiting for Hath-Set’s appearance. The evil priest who nearly destroyed the world would be coming to offer prayers and blessings soon. Ray nearly snorted at the irony.

A line of guards flanked the temple, obviously tasked with keeping the crowd contained to the courtyard. Ray frowned, wishing Carter had remembered that little detail. Either his earliest memories were still problematic or he simply forgot, Ray decided. It made sense. Prince Khufu wouldn’t need to get past his own guards, he thought, sure that Carter would have been helpful if this had occurred to him.

Ray looked at the crowd surging around him and the guards. He noticed one of the faithful wore elaborate feathers on leather slippers and touched his wrist. He had been working with Martin to create a lighter version of his ATOM compressed light device. It looked like a heavy bracelet but could direct a pulse of laser light for several seconds, even without the suit’s power generation.

He pointed the laser at one of the guard’s shiny swords, angled the beam for a moment and held steady. Within a few seconds the feathers began to smoke and soon the poor guy was hopping up and down, shouting as his shoes heated. Ray cut the pulse before he inflicted any real damage but the distraction worked. The guards near Ray moved to the howling man and the others watched in amusement as he waved his foot around and pushed other celebrants into the already packed crowd.

Ray slipped along the wall and hurried behind the line of guards, keeping his head down as he tried to make it to the slight shadow along the temple. He breathed a sigh of relief when he made it to the back of the building and found the door. 

He entered the dark interior and let his eyes adjust. He said softly, “A little help in navigating?”

He heard Carter’s annoyed sigh and then, “Follow this corridor 20 paces, then turn right, then left. Chay-Ara’s chamber is at the end.”

Ray gripped the shiny bracelet in his hand and followed the directions. If nothing else, he had to get it in Kendra’s presence before he was discovered. If Kendra was at the prayer, he could leave it on her pillow and hope that the timeline repaired itself, he thought.

He entered her chambers and moved toward the bed. The bed she shared with Prince Khufu, he thought before focusing on the task at hand. He couldn’t do anything about his former lover’s past lives.

He glanced at a dressing table but didn’t see a jewelry box anywhere. He moved to the bed. He touched the pillow wistfully.

“You know we can see you, right?” came Carter’s annoyed voice.

Ray frowned and lay bracelet on the pillow when he heard the sharp intake of breath. Damn, he thought.

He turned and saw Kendra, no Chay-Ara. She looked a little frightened and a lot angry. 

“What are you doing here?” she asked. 

He picked up the bracelet and held it to her but before he could explain, a man swaggered into the chamber. Carter looked a little odd with so much eye liner and he wore more jewelry than Kendra, Ray thought.

Ray bowed and held out the bracelet to her as Khufu raced forward, dagger drawn. 

“I merely offer a gift for Horus,” Ray said, thinking maybe Sara was right and it was time to move on from his heartbreak over Kendra. Too bad he hadn’t thought of this before he died, he considered. And at Carter’s hands. Sometimes there was no justice.

Khofu stopped, providing a shield for Chay-Ara and called for guards who grabbed Ray. “Kill him,” Khofu snarled. 

“Wait,” Chay-Ara said. Ray gave her a tentative smile, hoping she would sense a connection. 

She said, “He was bringing an offering to Horus.”

Carter snorted. “So he claims. How did he get to your chamber?”

“Perhaps the same way you do,” Chay-Ara said softly, amused. “He cannot be killed during the festival,” she reminded Khufu. 

This was why he loved her, Ray thought. Her tender heart.

“And then I have your permission?” Carter asked in his taunting voice.

Chay-Ara sighed. “You may do as you wish after that, but don’t taint the celebration with his bloodshed.”

Yep. Definitely, time to move on.

As the guards hauled Ray through the temple, he considered his options. He still carried the tiny ATOM suit in his pocket. Above all else, that couldn’t fall into the wrong hands. Leaving one tiny piece in the 70’s had changed history. He hated to think what the next 4000 years would look like if Vandal Savage found that suit.


	15. Be All My Sins Remembered

“He did what?” Sara hissed at Gideon.

“Mr. Carter, or Prince Khufu, has arrested Dr. Palmer and sentenced him to death.”

Sara looked at Jax. 

“Well that ain’t good,” he said.

“Ya think?” she said.

“Where is he?” Sara asked.

“Dr. Palmer is being moved to an underground area within the temple,” Rip said. “Unfortunately, we have lost his signal.”

“It’s where offerings are stored,” Kendra said. “And sacrifices.”

Sara and Jax said in unison, “Definitely not good.”

“The good news,” Carter said. “He was able to get Chay-Ara the bracelet so our mission is accomplished.”

A deafening silence followed this statement. Then a grunt.

“Everything okay?” Sara asked, amused in spite of the situation because she recognized that sound.

“Miss Saunders has just knocked Prince Jerkoff on his royal ass,” Len said in her ear.

“’Bout time,” Jax said.

“While I agree,” Martin said. “He is the only person who might help us retrieve Dr. Palmer.”

They heard another grunt and the sounds of a scuffle on the Waverider.

“Everything okay?” Sara asked.

“Mr Rory and Mr Snart are explaining the concept of a team to Mr. Carter,” Rip said, sounding remarkably satisfied.

“How will this happen?” Martin asked Carter.

There was another sharp grunt before Carter replied, “After Hath-set addresses the masses, he will retire for prayers. Any pending executions will be done then.”

“And the gong will sound for each execution,” Kendra said softly.

The group was quiet until she added. “I’m really not feeling well. I need to lay down.”

“Of course Miss Saunders,” Rip told her.

Sara was thinking she would rather have her kick ass sparring partner on the ground in the next few minutes but she bit her lip. Rip had lectured them on the danger to the timeline, as well as Carter and Kendra’s immortality if they saw their modern selves. She understood that Rip couldn’t sacrifice the future and the Hawks for the sake of one teammate. 

She looked at Jax. He nodded at her. That didn’t mean they were willing to give up on the geek yet.

“We need to get into that temple,” she told him.

“I might have an idea,” Jax said. “But you’re not going to like it.”

Sara sighed. She hadn’t liked anything about this stupid mission, why should things change now?

______________

Ray followed the guards down narrow stone steps, bent over to avoid bumping his head on the low ceiling. Clearly the temple was not built for a six foot three American from the twenty-first century, he thought. 

He had to turn sideways to walk though the ensuing tunnel, too narrow for his shoulders. Still, he noted the chambers they passed. The scent of spices was nearly overpowering from the largest chamber. Others appeared to hold chests and crates, covered with gold and silver items glowing softly in the passing torchlight.

Then another smell became stronger, eventually threatening to gag him. They entered a dark, foul chamber and the guards shoved him toward a cell. He knelt down and cowered as they taunted him. One of the guards kicked him several times, saying if he wanted to enter a priestess’s chamber, it could be arranged. After he became a eunuch.

Ray grimaced but refused to rise to their jeers. He could feel the tiny box in his pocket, the ATOM suit, his one hope of escape and also the thing that could not fall into Hath-set’s hands.

_____________

The woman moved through the crowd, gaining confidence as she moved, comfortable in this setting. The high priest walked to the high balcony overlooking the crowd. As the multitude quieted, he held up his arms and began to pray, offering blessings on behalf of the worthy.

She nearly stumbled at the hatred she felt well toward this evil creature who caused so much destruction for so many. She gripped the dagger at her side and wondered if the future would really be so horribly different if he did not survive the day. It was a question she had moments earlier posed and the answer shocked her. 

In spite of the time masters' meddling, Vandal Savage was meant to be, working in the background of world history, a catalyst for thousands of years. This idea that great good rose, empowered, in the face of great evil was one that she still did not feel comfortable with. Her life in a quiet, small town had not prepared her for the idea that evil not only bred good but strengthened it. 

As the vile priest continued to address the crowd, she reached a guard, then pulled the hood back ever-so-slightly from her face. The guard’s eyes widened before he let her pass. She heard a disturbance from the other side of the temple and glanced back to see two figures being dragged toward the shrine. She hurried her steps as she entered the temple, fading into the shadows.

_______________

“Prince Khufu.” The guards stopped dragging Sara and Jax long enough to address the man before them. 

The guards bowed as the prince frowned. “What is this?’ he asked.

Funny how he sounded pompous no matter what century, Sara thought.

“These stupid creatures were disturbing the priest,” the guard said.

“Why didn’t you dispose of them?” Khufu barked.

“They claim to know of a plot against your highness,” the guard said.

Khufu walked to Jax and struck him across the cheek. “Speak.”

Jax shot the prince a furious look before saying, “You are in grave danger.”

Khufu snorted. He pointed to the guards surrounding them. “Do I look like I am in danger?” he asked.

Sara nodded. “This danger will be magical,” she said, winging it. “Lord Voldemort is assembling his men at this moment, conjuring spells and potions to destroy you.”

She saw Jax giving her a side eye and thought she had perhaps been spending too much time with Ray. Her ability to lie plausibly seemed to have diminished since leaving Nanda Parbat.

“Who is this Lord Voldemort?” the lead guard growled.

“The most powerful sorcerer in all time,” Jax said to Khufu. “He lusts for your kingdom.”

“How many soldiers does he have?”

“Not soldiers,” Sara whispered. “Boogeymen.”

The guards looked confused and Sara wondered how the translator had handled that. 

Apparently not well when Khufu pulled his sword. 

She held up a hand to stay him. “You cannot spill our blood until the high priest finishes.”

Khufu grimaced, then said to his guard. “Take them to the cells. And tell the guards to keep their hands off them. I want to kill them personally. After that other idiot.”

If he decided they were truly deranged, the grins Sara and Jax shared would not change his opinion. The guards pulled them through the temple to a door leading down darkened steps. 

Sara saw a shadow move into the large chamber ahead of them but the small group passed, unmolested. She could smell the prison cells before they saw them. It brought back memories of the dankest corners of Nanda Parbat and she wondered in what condition they would find their teammate.

_______________

 

Eventually the guards tired of torturing Ray and left him alone. He moved toward the darkest shadow of the cell, then yelped when he stumbled against something that moved. 

A pitiful man cowered before him. He had clearly been kept here for some time. He looked like a refugee from a ZZ Top tribute band.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Ray assured him. 

The man cowered and covered his head in fear. Ray sighed. He looked at the guards who were laughing and talking amongst themselves, then slid as far out of sight as possible. He pulled out the ATOM, resizing it, and quickly began to suit up. His cellmate began to whimper and Ray asked him politely to be quiet before the guards heard him. The poor wretch nodded and stuffed a fist in his mouth to be quiet.

Ray pulled his robes over the suit and glanced out as more guards arrived. 

He frowned at the sight of Jax and Sara. His one hope in this mess was that they escaped safely. Sara saw him and winked. No, of course they wouldn’t leave him behind, he thought, frustrated and touched at the same time.

The guards locked them into a neighboring cell and left, saying they would return shortly- Hath-set appeared to be wrapping up his diatribe.

The two guards looked over Sara and began to harass her. She snorted at their feeble attempts to unnerve her.

A figure softly walked into the prison entry. When the guards saw her, they drew weapons before she pulled her hood down. They dropped to their knees while she nodded and walked toward Ray’s cell. 

Chay-Ara studied him for a long moment. “Slave,” she said.

Something in her eyes caused Ray’s head to tilt. “Kendra?”

She smiled. “Really Ray, what is with you and prisons?”

“I guess I have a thing for chains,” he said innocently.

“You couldn’t mention that when we were stuck in the fifties together?” Sara asked, teasing.

Ray gave her a blank look then blushed, and smiled.

Kendra spun in a whirling motion, knocking both guards out before tossing the keys to Sara. 

Jax retrieved the guards’ swords, handing them to Kendra and Sara, knowing they would do the most damage. “I think I want to join Ray’s sword training,” he told Sara.

“The more the merrier,” she said, moving toward the door. Ray looked at the man clutching his arm.

“We have to bring him,” Ray said.

“And what, set him loose?” Sara asked. “In a few weeks they'll all be dead from the asteroid. This one,” she nodded her head to the soul about to be quickly executed, “is the lucky one.”

Ray considered for a moment then sighed. “I hate my job,” he said softly.

“I hear ya, buddy,” Jax said. 

Ray told the man, “You must be quiet. If we survive, you can try to escape but we can’t help you.”

The man nodded, clapping a hand over his trembling lips.

“Swell,” Sara said.

The group began to move through the underground halls, making their way to the dark staircase. As they reached the ground floor, they heard the gongs begin to toll. Two deep, resounding gongs. 

“Crap,” Sara said looking at the pathetic old man clinging to Ray. “Can you carry Jax and your new BFF?”

Ray nodded. He looked at Kendra. “Have you got Sara?” Ray asked, wrapping arms around Jax and the whimpering prisoner.

“I do,” Kendra said. 

Sara mumbled, “Bloody hell.”

Ray ignited his thrusters and flew out of the temple, leaving several approaching guards shouting in terror.

Kendra started to hawk out when she sensed something and turned. She looked into the shocked eyes so like her own. Chay-Ara stared at them for just a moment before she opened her mouth and shouted for more guards. 

“Well you’re not much help,” Kendra muttered.

Kendra wrapped her arms around Sara and expanded her wings before following Ray out of the temple and up, over the valley, to the Waverider.

They met Rip at the door. Then he saw the extra passenger with the ATOM. 

“Seriously, I’m going to start selling tickets,” Rip shouted.

Martin approached the quivering man and gently injected him with a sedative. 

“Perhaps we could drop our new passenger off in a less volatile area?” he asked. 

Rip continued to grumble as Mick scooped the limp man over his shoulder and carried him aboard. Len and Martin grinned at the group before following the captain, still grousing, onto the ship.

The remaining team collectively glowered at Carter. He rolled his eyes, winced and followed the crew. 

Kendra kissed Ray’s cheek. She gave him a searching look. “So I think I’ve figured out why that bracelet was so important,” she whispered.

“Really, that’s wonderful!” he told her. “I’m so happy for you.”

She smiled and kissed him very softly on the lips. “Me too,” she said, then winked at Sara before boarding the Waverider. 

Ray looked a bit stunned, then frowned. “Why does Carter have a black eye?” Ray asked.

“Kendra apparently doesn’t have as much of a sense of humor as you would think,” Sara said.

A slow grin covered Ray’s face. 

“Come on big guy, let’s get you to medbay. You have a hell of a shiner yourself,” Sara said.

“I think Gideon may have to tweak my ribs again,” he said, walking gingerly aboard before the door closed and the ship lifted off.

 

_________________

 

“When did you remember?” Rip asked quietly.

Carter considered him. He thought about playing dumb but decided he was already pressing on his captain’s last good nerve.

“After the speakeasy,” he said simply.

“When the bracelet became faint, Dr. Palmer was about to be shot. It wasn’t the bracelet that was in danger,” Martin said. 

“It was Kendra’s boyfriend,” Carter said. 

“But you would have let him die!” Martin reminded him, aghast. 

“No,” Rip said, studying Carter. “You knew Kendra would save him.”

“Chay-Ara told me some crazy story about a twin of herself turning into a bird and flying off with a man who looked like a giant.”

“So your harassing of Dr. Palmer?” Martin asked.

Carter shrugged. “Kendra has always had a soft spot for the underdog.” 

He saw their looks. “He kept her safe and loved her when I was gone. Maybe she can have one lifetime with her mystery man.” He looked at Martin and Rip. “I still get her for the other 206 lives,” he reminded them. He grinned and left them, whistling an old tune from their previous life... was it the 186th or 187th?”

Martin and Rip looked at each other, speechless in the first time in either of their lives. Then a grin spread over Martin’s face. 

“Astonishing.”


	16. Galileo

“We have a time anomaly,” Rip said. “And Drs. Stein and Palmer, you will be particularly interested in this.”

Ray and Martin looked at each other. They personally found every time anomaly interesting but they weren’t going to quibble with their captain – for once.

“We are headed to 1616 Florence, Italy for the trial of a famous…” Rip began but was interrupted. 

“Oh my God!” breathed Martin in awe.

“Seriously?” Ray practically shouted.

“Wow, the nerd twins certainly seem excited,” Len said.

Ray looked at them, practically bouncing. “Galileo!” he enthused.

Martin looked like a small boy given a present so wonderful he couldn’t take it in. He asked tentatively, “We get to meet him?”

“Hopefully before he is executed in the Inquisition,” Rip responded.

“Wait- executed? But he wasn’t. He lived to be really old,” Ray said, then saw Professor Stein’s disgruntled look. “For his time, I mean,” he said, trying to appease his older colleague.

“Not in the current timeline,” Rip interrupted. “That is why we need to investigate what has changed.”

The two scientists looked at each other horrified. “If he dies in 1616, then…” Ray began, looking at his old professor.

“He won’t publish ‘Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World’ in 1632 which sets the basis for modern physics,” Martin said.

“Or ‘Two New Sciences’ in 1638 which changed everything for math and engineering,” Ray said, sounding horrified.

“So an ancient nerd is going to die too soon,” Mick said. “Why is that a big deal?”

“It’s a big deal if you like electricity, air travel, space exploration or any of a million ways that math, physics and engineering have changed the world,” Martin said, sounding like a testy professor.

“So a big deal?” Sara asked, amused.

“Indeed, Miss Lance,” said Martin. “A very big deal!”


	17. Teamwork or Bust

As always, Rip agonized over the makeup of this team. Years of working solo had not prepared him for the dynamics of team missions. And he doubted any field commander had to deal with the unique logistics and personalities that he had to work with. 

Rip knew he would never win an argument with Palmer and Stein to stay behind. While Ray had proven resourceful, he was at a disadvantage of needing to don his suit and Martin needed Jax to activate his superpowers. They would need back up. Subtle backup. And while he really would like to send Sara because, well, it was the inquisition, he worried how she would fit into a totally male, Catholic tribunal in the middle ages. 

He heard there was already a shipboard pool on how long before she declared war on the tribunal priests. And while Rip shared no fondness for the inquisition, he was rather fond of the Il Duomo in Florence. He and his wife had honeymooned secretly in Florence. He would just as soon leave the nearly thousand-year-old cathedral standing.

Same with the hawks. He doubted the church leaders who lost their minds over the concept the Earth revolved around the sun would take super beings with wings well. He sighed.

While he thought there might be some amusing irony at sending the two criminals into the fray of a Vatican tribunal, he thought the potential for disaster was too high. He was tempted to send Jax in to provide firepower for the team because, well- again, the inquisition and those bastards were just plain mean. Plus the young man had shown his athletic skill in recent self-defense lessons with Sara. 

Still, it infuriated Rip to place the young man in a situation where his race and youth might have crazy but powerful men treating him badly. The inquisition had been particularly difficult for anyone who did not fit the traditional white, privileged stereotype so he moved Jax to Plan B, keeping him as backup in case things went horribly awry. Rip snorted at the thought. Like that ever happened with this team!

In a perfect world, Rip would simply send in Carter. He carried his supernatural abilities in his very being and he could keep an eye on the two scientists but the tension between the crew and Carter had not been helped by his behavior in that whole Egyptian debacle.

He looked at his office console and considered. Maybe it was time the teammates learned to work as a team again.

“Gideon, is it a mistake to send Carter to accompany Drs. Stein and Palmer?”

“I believe it would certainly end hostilities,” she said.

“Really?” Rip said hopefully.

“Either they kill each other or learn to work as a team,” she added.

“Right,” Rip sighed. “Gideon, take us to our destination,” he said.

____________

Rip studied Martin, Carter and Ray as they prepared to leave the Waverider. 

“Remember, we need to determine what has changed in history so Galileo is sentenced to death, rather than be allowed to recant his writings and live for another 25 years.” 

“Ridiculous,” Martin groused. “All because he dared to suggest the earth revolved around the Sun, not the other way around,” he said.

“And I will remind you that geocentrism is the prevailing belief in this time so please don’t debate the fact that it is wrong,” Rip reminded him.

“Right. If Galileo is beheaded, he won’t be able to publish his later works which change everything,” Martin said.

Ray sighed as he looked at the mission report. “Bellarmine. Interesting.”

“An old friend?” Sara asked.

Ray shrugged. “Sort of. I attended Bellarmine Prep. He was a Jesuit priest and maybe a friend of Galileo. Some believe he was instrumental in saving Galileo when he said Galileo’s belief the Earth revolved around the sun wasn’t heresy.” Ray shrugged. “Who knows what really happened though.”

Martin gave him a huge smile. “We will. We will meet the players in one of the greatest moments of scientific debate. We’ll BE THERE.”

Ray perked up at this and tucked his ATOM suit in a pocket. “Cool. Let’s go save the modern world!”

Len and Sara rolled their eyes and Rip began to mutter to himself.


	18. St Bellarmine and the Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the religious debate but it’s hard to visit the Inquisition without it. And for having Ray attend a Catholic high school (he might be Jewish in the comics), so please forgive the creative license in pursuit of the nerd boys visiting one of their heroes... and Ray and Carter finally moving toward the perfect bromance they share in the comics.

Carter watched the two nerds as they walked the streets of 1616 Florence, searching for the address where they hoped to find Galileo. He would never understand what Kendra saw in Palmer and he wondered how the two highest IQ’s on the Waverider could also be the most aggravating.

“The Inquisition leadership has sent Father Bellarmine to meet with Galileo,” Martin explained as they walked. “The tribunal will be deliberating over the next few days and with the recommendation of Bellarmine, will force Galileo to recant his astronomical research but he will be left alone to continue his studies for several more years. Time for him to strengthen his work and write his world-changing papers.”

They passed several exquisite marble statues as they walked. Martin mused aloud, “Something has gone wrong though. He will be executed in nine days. We have to figure out what went awry.”

Carter smiled at several pretty maidens at a market as they walked, clearly not listening to the professor. Ray shot him a disgusted look as he flirted in passing.

Carter shrugged. “Hey, if the statues are any indication, they should be happy to meet a guy with a bit more... substance,” he said. 

Ray snorted. “Don’t get too excited Romeo. Small... man bits... were considered a sign of intelligence,” Ray explained. Then he glanced pointedly at Carter and grinned.

Before Carter could pulverize him, the professor interceded. “Gentlemen, focus.” Then he asked, “How do you know that?”

“I actually lived here for a semester, doing a study abroad,” Ray explained. “The things you learn in an art history class.”

Ray continued, looking around in wonder, “I’m amazed how similar the town is. Of course, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Botticelli have already left their mark. The Medici have been in power for 200 years. It’s a pretty amazing place. It really helped me appreciate art. I actually have a Botticelli in the Star City museum.”

“I would not have pictured you here, studying art, Raymond,” Dr. Stein said.

Ray shrugged. “There was a girl.”

“Ah,” Martin said.

Carter figured that explained how a pure scientist could be diverted from his studies to the cradle of the Renaissance. It explained why Ray did a lot of the things he did. The guy was a marshmallow.

They stopped in front of an elaborate doorway and Ray knocked. A harried woman opened the door and Martin explained, “We are here to see Signore Galileo Galilei,” he told her.

A look of fear crossed her face. “He is not here,” she said.

She started to close the door but Ray put a hand up. “We’re friends. We are not with the church.”

She bit her lip and considered. Then they heard a young woman’s laugh and a man saying, “Bellissimo!”

A young boy of about ten ran up, “Mama, mama!” he called, holding up a flower. “I wanted to make you smile!”

“Thank you Vincenzo,” she said, kissing the top of his head. “You are very good to me.”

The child grinned and ran toward the sound of the other voices. “Papa!” he called as he disappeared into a room.

“Maria Gamba,” Martin said. Bowing deeply. “It is an honor to meet you. How are Virginia and Livia?”

She only hesitated a moment more before smiling shyly. “They are as well as can be expected with the worry about their papa,” she said.

She opened the door and motioned them into the foyer. “My husband is giving Virginia dancing lessons.” 

As she led them down the hall, Ray whispered, “I didn’t think they ever married?” 

Martin gave him a reproving look and shrugged. 

They entered the lovely room and noted the familial scene. A young girl played on a pianoforte while an older man and teenage girl danced. The boy played quietly with a toy nearby.

The music stopped at the entrance of the visitors. The girls looked frightened but the man stepped forward to greet them.

“They said they were friends,” Maria said, looking suddenly unsure of herself.

Martin quickly explained. “We are great admirers of your work and are here to offer our support through the coming... difficulties.”

Galileo smiled sadly. “Friends are always welcome. Please, join us,” he said, motioning to a seating area. 

“Are you men of science as well?” he asked.

“Yes,” Ray piped up excited. “Your work in astronomy and math is amazing. It changes everything.”

“Sadly, that is hard to believe,” Galileo said, “Many fear change. They believe anything that might change how we see our world is heresy.”

As Maria served them wine and fresh-baked bread with olive oil, the men began a spirited debate on the nature of the universe. Even Carter joined in. Ray shot him a look of surprise. Carter scowled. Of all of them, he had lived through the most divergent beliefs on man and God over his lifetimes. 

Time flew and a clock chimed. Galileo studied them for a moment, then came to a decision. 

“Come, my friends. Come and see my stars,” he said as he pulled back a drape on a nearby table, causing Ray and Martin to sigh in pure pleasure. 

Carter glanced at the device and wondered why the scientists seemed so enraptured.

“The Galileo telescope,” Ray said. 

Carter then remembered an old science lesson, back in the days kids learned about the early pioneers. He was pretty sure his fifth grade teacher Mr. Perkins would have been a puddle on the floor with the two geeks by now.

He noticed Dr. Stein had to wipe moisture from his eyes as he looked at the device that would change man’s view of himself and his place in the universe forever. Carter grinned as they followed the Italian genius to the entryway.

Maria tsked over them as she refused to let Galileo leave without a warm coat. She handed Ray a flask of mulled wine and bag of food. “He forgets himself for hours looking at his stars,” she told Ray.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, carrying the gifts. “We’ll keep an eye on him.”

She smiled and kissed Ray on the cheek, causing him to blush while Carter rolled his eyes.

The men followed the historic legend through town and into the massive cathedral. 

“Il Duomo,” Martin said softly. 

Galileo looked at him. 

“Florence’s beautiful cathedral is famous. I have never seen it in person,” Martin explained. 

“This is my favorite place,” Galileo told them as he led them to a series of steps. They huffed their way up several flights of stairs in the bell tower before he opened a door into the belfry. “I feel closer to God and his creation here.”

Ray shifted before asking, “You still believe in God. Even with all the problems you’re facing?”

Carter glanced at the Boy Scout and wondered at the confusion on his face.

Galileo looked shocked. “Of course. I do not blame God for his church.” He shrugged. “It is what it is. Just as I don’t blame the moon for not being the sun. It is what it is. Both can be quite beautiful but different.”

Carter considered this. “Then why does the church think you are a heretic?” 

Galileo carefully unwrapped his telescope as he answered. “They are like most other telescopes. Their vision is very limited. They only see two or three magnitudes of what our eyes see. So their view is flawed but seems just as real to them. To them, man is unique in the universe. Anyone that suggests, like Copernicus, that we are just a small piece in a bigger, more fantastical design, means perhaps we are not as important as we think we are.” 

Galileo grinned at them as he placed the telescope on a crude sort of crutch. The long, metal tube looked like little more than a captain’s spyglass but Carter vaguely remembered that its twenty times magnification allowed more stars to be discovered, more pieces in a larger puzzle of what might be ‘out there’.

The Italian handed the telescope to Martin who looked like he might faint from happiness as he held the eyepiece to his glasses. He frowned and looked at the telescope, then tried again. 

“Good heavens, it has a very narrow field of vision,” he said.

“That is the trade off for the greater depth of field,” Galileo reminded them.

“You know,” Ray said. “With just a minor modification, you could keep the strength of your magnification but improve the narrow field of view... you could see the entire moon but with the same clarity.”

“Raymond,” Martin hissed as they heard Rip wailing in frustration in their earpieces that they weren’t there to help Galileo THAT much. 

“Right. Sorry,” Ray said, chagrined.

“No. No,” Galileo said, considering. “I would be most interested in this improvement.”

“Perhaps when you are past all of this difficulty,” Martin offered diplomatically. Ray gave him a grateful look.

“Ah, yes. The difficulty.” Galileo sighed wearily as Ray took his turn at the telescope. The Italian broke off a piece of the crusty bread and passed the rest to the others. They watched the stars and shared the repast as the night sky darkened.

Galileo pointed out the stars he had discovered and shared news of other astronomers’ findings. Carter could tell Palmer was biting his tongue to keep from sharing too much with this man he clearly revered.

“Amazing,” Ray said softly, looking at the simple telescope. “One of the greatest steps in mankind’s history,” he added absentmindedly.

Galileo arched an eyebrow at the odd comment but Martin asked him to explain what was going on with the tribunal.

“I am being asked to proclaim that the truth is not the truth and what my eyes have seen cannot exist,” he said.

Carter considered this. “But if it’s true, then they should accept it.”

Galileo shook his head. “The church believes science is in conflict with the Bible, but how can that be if they are both from God?” 

They heard footsteps approaching. The door opened and an older man, perhaps in his seventies joined them.

“Holy mother, I forget how many steps,” he wheezed.

Galileo approached the man and knelt, kissing his ring. “Father Bellarmine,” he said. “It is an honor to see you.”

Bellarmine gave him an amused look. “I sincerely doubt that, Signore. And give my greetings to Maria again,” he said with some feeling. “I began to fear she was stalling me these past few days.”

“She has a beautiful and loyal heart,” Galileo said. 

Bellarmine nodded. “One that cannot be faulted, even if her loyalty is misplaced.”

Carter and Ray looked at each other in surprise. They expected the Jesuit priest to be an ally but there seemed to be great tension between the two men. Bellarmine turned to the others.

Ray groaned as Martin knelt and kissed the proffered ring. Carter grit his teeth but followed. Ray looked at the man before swallowing hard and kneeling. His kiss landed in air, somewhere in the general vicinity of the old priest before he bolted to his feet. 

“Now, Signore Galilei,” the priest began. “You must see reason. Your claims are deranged, unhinged, but some poor souls may actually believe them and be led astray. Surely you do not want to be responsible for the eternal damnation of others.”

Carter saw Ray open and close his mouth several times in astonishment. Apparently the nerd was expecting a different response from the old man.

“I cannot refute what can be proven,” Galileo said. “And I do not have such limited faith in God. Surely he is quite capable of a universe that is bigger than our limited minds can imagine.”

The old priest puffed up, furious. “You should watch yourself Signore Galilei. You may have friends in the church but do not think I will listen to blasphemy. We are created in his image. And his word is irrefutable.”

Galileo sighed heavily. The silence stretched until Martin cleared his throat.

“Perhaps in his wisdom, the Bible was written in the language of the common man who is not a scientist. But for those of us who are enlightened,” Martin said, looking at the educated priest, “we must use the minds that God gave us.”

“No!” Bellarmine said, his voice rising. “The Bible is divine and to argue with it is heresy!”

“For Pete’s sake,” Ray muttered. 

Galileo said, “Sadly, I believe it teaches us how to go to heaven, but not HOW the heavens go.”

“Then that is a place we are not meant to be!” the Jesuit said, stubbornly. “This is a very dangerous path you walk Signore. I believe you must be made an example for those who would dare to publish heresy. I will recommend a merciful death by beheading. You should put your affairs in order.”

“I thought the Jesuits were more enlightened?” Ray asked, practically shouting.

“We are. My Dominican brothers want him to burn at the stake.”

Ray looked as angry as Carter had ever seen him, then a calculating look came over the big man’s face.

“What if God told you this is the truth?”

The priest scoffed. “And you are his messenger?”

Ray grinned broadly. “Absolutely.”

Then he pushed the old man’s chest, sending him tipping over the edge of the belfry. With a startled yelp and a flash of robes, he disappeared over the edge, plummeting toward the ground several stories below.

Martin yelled and Carter growled at Ray before he shot over the side. He caught the flailing priest a few feet from the ground and carried him back to the belfry.

As Carter sat the old man down, Bellarmine sank to his knees babbling. Ray motioned to Carter’s wings.

“Do you believe us now? Surely an angel would not lie.”

Carter tried to look angelic but wasn’t sure how successful he was. It wasn’t a thing he had ever tried in 4000 years.

“You, Father Bellarmine, are going to do your best to save Galileo’s life.”

“But the tribunal is set,” Bellarmine argued.

“Then change their minds,” Ray growled.

“Perhaps a compromise,” Martin said, finally finding his voice after the shocking display. “Perhaps Galileo could stop writing publicly about his findings but continue to do his research?”

“He would need to renounce his claims!” the priest said.

Before Ray could throw him off the cathedral tower again, Galileo agreed. “I am willing. I will be safe to continue my work in peace?”

“For the rest of my days,” Bellarmine said, gulping.

“Speaking of,” Ray said. 

Carter wasn’t sure what had unleashed the devil in the Boy Scout but he was starting to kind of like this guy.

“You should support the science community. Perhaps say that they are simply finding more ways to prove your God’s magnificence.”

Bellarmine considered. When Ray took a step toward him, he held up his hands. “Yes, I could do that!”

The men agreed and Galileo helped the priest down the stairs. The three legends looked at each other. Rip had finally stopped shouting in their ears.

“That was an interesting solution,” Martin said carefully.

“Years of Catholic education. Who would have ever thought it would save science?" Ray said, sounding like a delighted child.

“Still, it only worked because of my ability,” Carter reminded him.

“My knowledge of all things Catholic was extremely helpful,” Ray reminded him as they walked down the stairs.

“Ten percent helpful. My wings, ninety percent.”

Ray snorted. “Your idea of mathematical computation is seriously flawed," Ray argued as the three walked out of the cathedral to the waiting Galileo. 

Ray tried to hand Galileo the telescope. The Italian held up a hand. “Please, keep it. You have saved my life and given my dear Maria peace of mind.”

He looked at Carter. “I do not know if this was divine intervention but I do believe there are many things we do not understand in this universe.”

“You keep doing your good work,” Martin said. “You will help bring us much closer to understanding so many marvels.”

Galileo hugged them and left to share the news with Maria. The three men turned toward the Waverider, noting the ominous silence in their earpieces.

Ray began to grumble as they walked. “I never thought I’d see Galileo’s renouncing his discoveries as a win,” he said.

“But he will live for more than two decades in peace before facing this again. By then, so many scientists were making leaps forward in astronomy that he was spared once more.”

“To live the rest of his life under house arrest,” Ray reminded him.

“But science prevailed, Dr. Palmer,” Martin reminded him.

They entered the Waverider’s command center.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Rip shouted.

“That my parents should get a refund on my education?” Ray said, sounding a bit like a smart ass. Carter grinned.

“Oh my god!” Rip yelled. “I cannot believe you threw Saint Bellarmine off the Florence Cathedral!”

“That might be my favorite Haircut moment ever,” Mick said.

Rip glowered at him before turning to Martin. “Couldn’t you stop him?”

“If I had, in my wildest dreams, thought Raymond would do such a thing, perhaps.” Martin thought for a moment. “But then, perhaps not.”

Rip sputtered in outrage and rounded on Carter.

“Hey I saved the guy,” Carter said, holding up his hands in surrender. “I could have let the pompous ass go splat.”

Ray grinned. “I knew you wouldn’t. Even if I sort of wished you would.”

“Yeah, I got that,” Carter said, also grinning. “But now I’m starved.”

“Me too,” Ray said. 

The two men started toward the ship’s galley.

Ray said, “At least Galileo got the last word.”

“How so?” Carter asked.

“Galileo’s middle finger.” Ray giggled. “His middle finger is on display at the Galileo museum like a religious relic. I've seen it.”

“You mean he’s been flipping people off for the past four hundred years?” Carter asked.

“Yep,” Ray said, delighted. Carter snorted.

“Oi!” Rip shouted but they ignored him. 

He turned to the rest of the crew, most of whom wore varying looks of bemusement.

“Are they?” Kendra began.

“Even more annoying together?” Len said.

“BFF’s?” said Sara.

“Not killing each other?” Jax said, sounding astonished.

“Yeah,” Kendra said, starting to grin. 

“I need a drink,” Martin said, sounding as exasperated as the team had ever heard him.

“Sounds like a plan,” said Mick, wrapping an arm around the professor. 

Jax and Sara looked at each other.

“Swords?” he said.

“You want me to kick your ass instead of joining the drinking party?” she said.

“Yeah,” he said, giving her a compelling grin.

She sighed and said, “Fine. But I am seriously kicking somebody’s ass.”

Jax grabbled Len and dragged him along. “We could flip a coin,” he told Snart as he flipped an ancient Egyptian coin in the air.

Snart deftly caught the coin and pocketed it. “Or not,” he said, grinning.

Sara snorted. “And now we know whose ass,” she said softly, following them into the hall.

Rip waited until they were gone before a slow, sly smile covered his face.

“Gideon, you are a genius,” he said.

“Thank you captain,” she said in a demur voice.


	19. Memorabilia

Martin entered his quarters and saw the item laying on his bed. He picked up the treasure and held it dearly for a moment. Then he sighed in regret and headed toward Dr. Palmer’s lab.

He didn’t make it very far. He nearly ran into Raymond turning a corner and he was fairly certain his heart stopped when he lost his grip on the telescope for a moment.

“Oh gosh,” Ray said. “Don’t drop that.”

“I have no intention of dropping it,” Martin said. “I was in fact going to return it to you. Galileo gave it to you.”

“Yes, but I thought you would like it,” Ray said, refusing to take the historical treasure.

“Raymond. I insist.”

“Then I insist right back,” his former student stubbornly said. “Besides I have my trumpet, so it’s only fair you have the telescope.”

Martin gave him a carefully blank look. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“It’s okay professor. I figured out it had to be you who left me Louis Armstrong’s trumpet. I thought I would return the favor with the telescope.”

Martin bit back a smile. “I still don’t know what you are talking about but if you insist?”

“I insist,” Ray said, smiling like a happy kid.

“Then thank you,” Martin said. “I shall treasure it throughout all time.”

Ray thought for a moment then smiled. “Good one!” He nodded at his old teacher and continued on his way to the galley. 

Ray's time in Florence had reminded him of all the great food he had eaten as an exchange student. He wondered how the ship’s galley was at Caprese salad?


	20. Mr. Darcy I Presume

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for your patience! I had to focus on my next book but it’s finally published so I can get back to Ray and the merry band!
> 
> My author page: https://www.amazon.com/Jilliene-McKinstry/e/B001KHMH08

“The Slave Trade Act of 1807 never happened.”

“Gideon?” Rip asked as the team gathered around the console.

“It appears a domino effect occurred surrounding the Earl of Morley. He died months before the British parliament finally passed the Act in 1808.”

“How does a rich white guy affect slavery?” Len asked.

“He was a strong supporter of William Pitt the Younger and helped argue for several important policies, including child vaccinations and of course, the measure that outlawed the slave trade. The Act was flawed but it paved the way for abolishing slavery in 1833. Without the Earl’s support, it never happened and England outlawed slavery decades later, after the American Civil War.”

“That’s awful,” Kendra said. “So this guy was a good guy?”

Gideon hedged for a moment. “Well, some believe he was the inspiration for Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.”

Kendra sighed. “I love that book.”

“How did he die?” Rip asked.

“He was involved in a duel,” Gideon said. “His wife discovered he had several illegitimate children and left him. He challenged her paramour to a duel and lost.”

“So maybe not a great guy,” Jax said. “Still, that’s extreme.”

“And stupid, but it was his only course of action. Divorce was unheard of in the peerage,” Martin said.

“But he did in fact divorce her,” Gideon said, “and married Francis Talbot, one of Jane Austen’s best friends. He fought for government reform and several progressive policies.” 

“So save the horny dude and fix history?” Len said, amused.

“And the slavery act,” Martin said. 

“Indeed,” Gideon added.

“Volunteers?”

Kendra’s hand shot up so fast she elbowed Ray. “I’m sorry,” she said, laughing as he rubbed his shoulder. “I guess I’m a bit excited.”

Ray gave her a rueful grin. “It’s okay. I volunteer too.”

Sara sighed as her hand crept up.

Jax held up one hand.

“We meet in wardrobe supply in one hour and I’ll explain the plan,” Rip said.

_________

 

When the team reassembled, they studied the plan Rip outlined.

Jax said, “I looked up this Slave Trade Act. Slavery was already outlawed in England, mostly to protect white slaves from Scotland, but most slaves never set foot in England. They were kidnapped in Africa and sent to the U.S. or Caribbean plantations. The Slave Trade Act made it illegal to trade in humans but it didn’t outlaw existing slavery. Still it allowed the Royal Navy to start patrolling the coast of West Africa. It didn’t stop the slave trade, but it definitely made a difference.”

Ray mused aloud, “So once again, we’re going to fix history, but not really fix it?”

Rip began to say something but Jax held up a hand. 

Jax sighed. “We get it. Don’t mess with the timeline, no matter how much it sucks. Still, if we don’t protect the times when you crazy white dudes got it right, how are we ever going to move forward?”

Ray snorted. “I guess the rare moments we get it right need to be saved?”

“Damned straight,” Jax said, giving him a grin. “So let’s go save Earl Gray.”

Rip rolled his eyes. “In 1807 John Parker, the Baron Boringdon, isn’t an earl yet. He does own Saltram House in Plymouth and is planning a large party in one day. There he dies in a duel with Sir Arthur Paget. You need to make contact and keep the Earl from entering this duel.” 

He continued, “Ray and Jax are visiting from the very young United States. Len and Mick can be footmen. Kendra and Sara are...” Rip paused.

Sara arched an eyebrow and Rip sighed. 

“Wives?” he said in more a question than a statement.

Sara grinned. “Actually, servants get to go everywhere,” 

“But gentlemen would be traveling with men servants,” Rip argued.

The women looked at him.

“Okay then,” Rip said as he programmed the wardrobe computer.


	21. Never Let Mick Drive

The team landed near the small village of Plympton in Devon. While Sara and Kendra found the local inn to rent rooms, the four men approached the livery to rent a carriage. 

“We don’t have much time. We should visit the mansion today,” Jax said. “Before the Baron has a chance to challenge his wife’s lover.”

Ray touched his communication link. “Sara, do you mind if we go on without you?”

“Go for it,” she said. “We’ll try to gather any gossip in the village.”

Mick’s look of glee when Len handed him the reins unnerved the rest of the team. By the time the carriage skidded to a stop at Saltram House, the horses were lathered and Jax murderous.

“Imma kill him,” he growled, holding his stomach. 

Ray and Len weaved a bit when they stepped down from the still rocking deathtrap.

Ray looked up at the towering Georgian mansion. Saltram House. Kendra had enthused that it was actually used in one of the Jane Austen movies. He bit his lip and thought maybe he should ask her to show him the movie when they returned. 

A uniformed servant met them and Ray handed him a calling card. The dapper gentleman glanced at Len and Mick, then took the card as though it might explode.

“Dr. Raymond Palmer, Esquire,” he read. “Of the United St…” he paused. “The colonies.” 

The way he drawled that bit had Mick growling. 

Ray said, “I understand the Baron is interested in building an iron toll bridge. I have an engineering background that might prove helpful.” 

The servant sniffed in disdain but led Ray and Jax into the manor. He deposited them in a library before begging their leave to inform the Baron of “visitors,” which he said as though they carried a plague.

Ray started toward the nearby shelves of books, then turned when the door opened. Instead of the Baron, a young woman entered, carrying a book. She stopped in surprise when she saw the two strangers.

“Hello,” Jax said. “We’re waiting to meet with the Baron,” he explained.

“My husband,” the young woman said. 

Ray and Jax shared a look. The baron was nearly forty but his pretty wife looked to be considerably younger – in her early twenties, if that.

“I’m an engineer,” Ray said. “I am here to offer some help on his latest project.”

She sighed as she shelved the book and retrieved another. “Which one? The marshland he hopes to make a race course? Or perhaps the shipbuilding yard? Or that thing,” she waved a hand. “The tramway,” she remembered. 

She turned to look at Ray, studied him for a moment, then smiled. “So would your help stop him from squandering my inheritance on his ridiculous ego?”

“Uhm,” Ray began, floundering.

Jax smiled at her. “That is our sincere hope,” he said.

She smiled again. “Then by all means, I wish you the most success.”

She brushed against Ray and sent him a decidedly welcoming look as she sauntered from the room. 

“It’s gonna take a miracle to keep him from getting shot,” Jax muttered.


	22. From Nags to Riches

Ray and Jax introduced themselves to John Parker, the Baron Bordingdon, and handed him their calling cards.

“You’re an engineer?” he said, looking from Jax to Ray. His eyes settled on Ray.

Ray nodded. “Mr. Jackson is an associate. Brilliant at dynamics and design implementation.”

The Englishman nodded then waved them to chairs facing his desk. “What makes you think I have need of your skills?” Parker asked.

“I heard you’re a man of vision,” Ray said. “You have several projects that might benefit from our knowledge. I have degrees in physics and engineering and quite an extensive background in project management.”

Parker studied him for a moment. “What are you doing here?”

“Beg pardon?” Ray asked.

“Here, in Plympton? I would think you could find more work in London,” he responded.

Ray nodded. “Ah. I enjoy a challenge,” he said. “I heard about your plans for the neighboring swamp and I must admit, I’m intrigued. The plan sounds audacious, and brilliant,” he added.

Parker sat back, visibly pleased. “You are a rare man of vision yourself. Most of the locals here think it’s madness.”

Ray shrugged. “In… the colonies… we’ve had to be innovative at building our cities. Swamp reclaiming and bridge building is not something new, but your idea to create an iron bridge with footings in a swamp is a definite challenge.” He leaned forward. “With the right footings and a good truss design, you could change the way bridges are built.”

He flinched slightly at the sound of Rip howling in his ear. He and Jax looked at each other but Parker hadn’t noticed. He began to pull drawings out and Ray and Jax spent the next hour studying his plans and offering suggestions.

“By God man, that’s brilliant!” the Baron finally said, scarcely containing his excitement. 

Rip was not containing his response and it wasn’t nearly as complimentary. Ray was going to have another lesson in affecting the technological timeline when he got back on board the Waverider.

“I’m having a party here tomorrow,” Parker said, “to introduce the idea to some friends from Oxford. You must join us. With your suggestions, we’ll be able to convince them the idea is excellent!”

“We would be honored,” Jax told him. 

The Baron started as he glanced at the clock. “Blast, there’s somewhere I need to be. I’ll see you out but promise you’ll join the fun tomorrow?”

Ray and Jax agreed as the Baron showed them to the foyer. When he dashed off to change into riding clothes, his wife appeared.

“You seem to have made him happy,” she said.

Ray squirmed as she approached- too near, entering his personal space. “Uhm, your husband has some very interesting ideas. It’s exciting to imagine them built.” He took a step back. “You must be proud.”

She rolled her eyes in disgust. “My husband is a cheating philanderer and a spendthrift. I doubt there is very much I can be proud of.”

“Oh,” Ray said softly. “Well, we must be going.”

“You are welcome to join me for dinner. Of course my husband will be meeting with his mistress so he won’t be able to join us,” she said.

Ray frowned. “I’m sorry. Truly. Being caught in a triangle is terrible,” he said without thinking. He flinched and hoped that Kendra wasn’t patched in. He kissed Lady Augusta’s fingers and said, “We’ve been invited back tomorrow for the party. I look forward to seeing you then.”

She studied him for a moment, then gave him a genuine smile. “I shall look forward to your company as well.”

Jax urged Ray from the mansion until they both saw their mode of transportation approaching and groaned.

_______________

When Jax and Ray entered the mansion, a footman led Len and Mick toward the stables. The two time travelers helped the stable boy wipe down the horses while an older, wizened character tsked at them for the sorry state of the pair. As they groomed the horses, Len struck up a conversation with the lad. 

“The Baron is hosting a party, we hear,” Len said, rubbing a thick rag over his horse. He wondered if Mick’s horse really would bite him or if it just looked like it might.

“Aye, he be invitin’ some of the finest folk from the region,” the boy said.

Len nodded. “Is it a celebration?”

“No, he be looking for investors,” the kid replied.

The old man stirred. “He be wanting partners in his plan to drain the swamp near here. Bad business, I says.”

Len gave him a sympathetic look. “And you’ll be hopping, taking care of all their horses.”

“Aye. Teren’t no problem though,” the old geezer said. “The master is a fair man for all his foolish notions. He’s better than most of his ilk. Toffs,” he said, then spit.

“How many fancy folks do you expect?” Len asked, silently noting the care Mick was giving to the horse’s hide with a wire brush. The beast seemed appeased and snuffled at Mick’s bald head. Len wondered how Rip would feel about bringing pets on the Waverider. 

“Fair dozen, and their fancy ladies,” the boy said. “It’s a proper party!”

Len grinned at Mick. Fancy ladies and their fancy jewels, he imagined. After all, if they didn’t keep their thieving skills honed, they wouldn’t be much use to time travelers when a little larceny was needed.

Once the horses were settled to the old man’s satisfaction, Len looked for an excuse to case the manor. “Do they serve good eats at their parties?” he asked the lad.

“Aye, wonderful food sir. And there’s always plenty left over for the house staff. My sister is a chambermaid. She always saves me a cake or two.”

“That sounds good,” Len said. He nodded toward Mick, “My friend is always hungry. He could eat a ...” he patted the nag, “a whole feast himself.”

“If he’s hungry, he could peek in the kitchen door. The cook never met a man she didn’t think needed fattening,” the old man said. 

Len was about to take him up on the offer when a servant appeared.

“The master will be needing his horse,” he said stiffly. He glanced at Len and Mick and added, “Your master is ready for his carriage,”

Len rolled his eyes and thought Ray better not get any ideas. At least it wasn’t Carter. Blood would be shed then.

After the boy helped them hitch the team to the carriage, Len climbed aboard. He reached for the reins but Mick grabbed them first with a demented look. Len sighed.

As they raced toward the manse, Mick asked, “What was all that about?”

“What do rich people bring to parties?” Len asked, turning off his earpiece.

Mick considered for a moment, then understanding struck. “Jewels,” Mick answered, a light gleaming in his mercenary eyes.

“And while they are all wining and dining, we will be robbing them blind,” Len said.

Ray and Jax walked to the carriage and Jax’s eyes narrowed as he saw Mick holding the reins. 

Len opened the door for them with a grin and Ray sighed in resignation.


	23. Highway Robbery

Kendra and Sara found three rooms at the local inn and then asked where they might get a decent meal. The inn keeper directed them to a coffee house that gentle ladies might enjoy. Sara asked for the favorite tavern for locals. His eyebrows shot up but he directed them to the White Stag.

The two walked through town, noting the churches, shops and hawkers.

“I wonder if she ever came here,” Kendra said.

“Who?” Sara asked.

“Jane Austen,” Kendra said.

“Probably not. I don’t think women travel much,” Sara said, looking around the local inhabitants who probably never went further than the village in their whole lives. Not exactly candidates for a time-traveling, space-hopping crew, she thought.

She and Kendra entered the darkened pub and noted several patrons scattered at the plain tables. As Kendra ordered the local stew, Sara ordered ales. The barkeep gave them a look. They were the only women in the room. Sara smiled at him.

“So where do we start?” Kendra asked softly.

“Here,” Sara said. 

When the bartender handed them the drinks, Sara asked. “We’re here with our employer,” she explained. “He has business with the Baron of Boringdon.”

The man nodded. “John Parker. He’s a fair bloke. Not as good as his father, but he’ll do.”

Sara nodded. “What about his wife?” she asked.

He sighed. “Lady Augusta?” He wiped the bar down with a rag that had seen better years. “She’s young and pretty. She’s given him a fine son. A legitimate one. Maybe he’ll settle down now and stop causing his dear ma’am to turn in her grave.”

“Oh, do tell,” Sara said.

The barkeeper leaned forward. “Well, it’s no secret Parker’s been carrying on with that strumpet Lady Elizabeth. Living together as though she tweren’t already married! And now with three bastard sons, none of ‘em can inherit Saltram. It’s a disgrace.”

Sara grinned. “He’s a busy boy.”

The barkeeper snorted. “He gave up Lady Elizabeth when he married but she’s been hanging around again.” He leaned closer and Sara blinked her eyes at the blast of halitosis.

“Rumor has it, she’s taken a house on the outskirts of Plymouth and he’s been visiting her again.”

“I bet Lady Augusta isn’t happy,” Kendra said.

The barkeep nodded in agreement and moved to serve another patron.

They found a table and Kendra gingerly tasted the stew. Sara broke off a hunk of bread and dipped it in her bowl. Years of deprivation had made her anything but picky about food. As she ate the thick venison soup, she studied the patrons. Most appeared to be local, taking their dinner meal and gossiping. She made a note to tip the innkeeper for his excellent suggestion.

Then a whispered voice near them caught her attention.

“You sure he won’t have any servants with him?”

“Nah,” a raspy voice responded. “The Baron either rides his favorite nag or takes a curricle.” 

“Tougher to stop a man on horseback,” the first man growled.

“Well, we just makes sure his horse stops now, don’t we?”

“How do we do that?”

“We use a rope, cross the road with it and when he rides up, bring it up high enough to knock him off the horse. Then, if the fall don’t kill him, we finishes the job.”

“And we gets paid,” the first man said. A satisfied lip-smacking punctuated his comment.

“Aye. And we steal whatever we can to make it look like a robbery,” his companion said. They clinked their tankards together.

“We gots to be ready. We don’t want to keep his lordship waiting,” he added.

Sara waited until the two scruffy-looking men left, then grabbed Kendra’s arm and dragged her from the pub.

“Hey!” Kendra said as Sara bolted down the street toward the stables.

“Hurry,” Sara hissed as she touched her ear. “Rip, it looks like we have a bit more trouble than just a duel. I have a sinking feeling someone has hired a couple thugs to kill the Baron tonight, on the way to his mistress.”

“Crap,” Rip said. 

“We’ll try to stop it but can Ray and Jax delay the Baron a bit while we catch up?”

“They’ve already left Saltram,” Rip said. “I’ll get them a message though.”

___________

“Highway robbers?” Ray sounded way too delighted. Rip grit his teeth.

“Yes, Dr. Palmer. Bloodthirsty ones intent on killing the Baron. Sara and Kendra are trying to catch them but you need to delay the Baron,” he told them.

Rip heard arguing from his team. Ray shouted to Mick and Len to slow down, Mick gave an evil chortle and apparently did the opposite. Jax shouted something about lighting Mr. Rory’s privates on fire when they returned to the ship and Len was suspiciously quiet. It sounded like a typical mission with this team. He prayed for Sara and Kendra to save the day.

He held his breath when the team erupted in shouts and he could have sworn he heard gun fire. Then, he heard a strange voice shouting, “It’s not him.”

“Whats do we do?” came another voice.

Rip put his head in his hands, envisioning the trap the men had blundered into. He had wanted them to foil the plot, not get caught in it. “Gideon, let’s fly a bit closer, shall we?”

As the ship lifted off, still cloaked, Rip try to picture the scene.

“See here gentlemen,” Ray said. ‘And I use that term generously. You can’t just be robbing people. It’s against the law.”

Rip heard a snort. He was fairly certain it was Mr. Snart.

“Look fella,” Len said. “I don’t know who you think you’re robbing but you got the wrong carriage. We’re just some poor travelers ourselves. Nothing to steal here.”

Rip could see the tableau now on the Waverider screen. One of the thugs punched the other’s arm. “I told you it weren’t them. He said he wouldn’t have a carriage!”

“And just who would that be?” Len asked. 

The two thugs turned their attention back to the four men who faced them, hands up, looking less like legends and more like a bad set of extras in Hollywood. 

“Twenty bucks says Palmer gets shot,” Carter said from his elbow.

“Do you really think that’s appropriate?” Rip growled.

Carter grinned. “I know you agree, that’s why you won’t take the bet.”

Rip’s eyes narrowed. “You’re on, Mr. Hall.”

_______

Sara motioned to Kendra to stop as they peered through the hedge near the road. By the time they procured horses, and by procured, Sara had knocked out the stable hand and helped Kendra steal two, they weren’t able to catch the thieves. 

It was okay though because the guys were obviously on top of things, she thought sarcastically, looking at the four men with their hands in the air. Mick and Len smirked at the gun-toting murderers while Jax and Ray looked a little concerned. 

And babbled. The big guy was trying to explain to the illiterate duo why they shouldn’t be leading a life of crime. Sara rolled her eyes before motioning to Kendra. The highwaymen were so bewildered by the brilliant physicist that they didn’t see the two women sneaking up behind them. 

Within seconds the two men were unconscious on the ground. Sara looked at Palmer as he smiled delightedly. “You saved us,” he told Kendra.

She grinned at him. “Did you have any doubt?”

“Nope,” he said in complete sincerity. “I was just hoping to distract them long enough.” He grinned at her with a boyish look that made Sara hope they wouldn’t be peeling his heart off the ground again soon.

Then she noted the answering look on Kendra’s face. Well, well. So that’s the way the wind blows, Sara thought. 

“You could have left a little fun for us,” Rory growled, nudging one of the men with his foot.

“You’re welcome,” Sara told him. 

Kendra looked up the road, listening with her incredible hawk hearing. “Someone’s coming.” She and Sara faded into the trees as a rider approached. 

“Think the boys need any more help?” Sara asked.

Kendra laughed. “No and we better get these horses back before we end up in trouble ourselves.”

________

Rip looked at Carter, then held out a hand.

Without saying a word, Carter placed a bill in it. Martin and Rip shared a smile as the Egyptian prince walked away mumbling about braniacs that constantly need saving.


	24. Be Our Guest

The Baron dismounted his huffing stallion and approached the carriage. 

“What goes on here?” Parker asked.

“Robbers,” Ray said, pointing to the two men Len and Mick tied together.

“Dear heavens!” Parker exclaimed. “This is outrageous!” He saw Mick pocket the pistol and nodded. “I see you have them well in hand though.”

Before Ray could respond, one of the robbers elbowed the other. “See, told ye he wouldn’t be in a carriage.”

The baron’s eyes widened. Ray said, “It appears we were not their intended target.”

Jax held up the rope laying across the road, then lifted it above a horse’s head height. The baron blanched. 

“You’ve saved my life,” Parker said. 

Ray waved this away. “Actually,” he began, then grunted when Jax elbowed him. 

“It was a team effort,” Jax said cheerfully.

“Well, you must stay with me this evening. It’s the least I can do in thanks.”

Ray looked at the disreputable criminals who weren’t teammates. “Is there a constable where we can hand these two over?”

“Yes, yes. In Plympton, there is a stable where you can leave them. They’ll send word for the sheriff,” Parker said. “Then, you must return to my home.” He paused. “I have an engagement in town but I can cancel.”

Ray shook his head. “Please don’t change your plans. I have quite a bit of correspondence to finish. I’m sure I would be a terrible guest.”

“Well, you must stay at Boringdon regardless. Tell Lady Augusta to make you comfortable and allow you to use my study.”

“Thank you,” Jax said. “That’s most generous.”

Parker shook his head. “Please, I owe you a great deal.” He mounted his horse and nodded to the men before continuing on his way. 

“Well, at least Lady Augusta will be pleased,” Jax said, amused.

Ray missed his intention and said, “I hope so. If she was behind this, we need to keep her busy.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” Jax said.

His other teammates hid smiles as the big man helped push the bedraggled robbers into the carriage.

By the time they had deposited the miscreants with the stable and picked up Sara and Kendra, the day was fading. The team returned to Boringdon as another carriage pulled away from the door.

Lady Augusta met them at the entry as several young people disappeared inside.

“Welcome back,” she said, smiling at Ray.

“Your husband invited us to stay this evening,” he told her. “I hope it’s not an imposition.” He said in a near whisper. “He nearly had an unfortunate accident on the road.”

She frowned slightly. “I’ve told him that horse is not to be trusted.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, he is as stubborn as the beast.”

Ray looked at her for a moment, then explained, “Actually, there were some highwaymen. They bumbled upon us first but it appeared they were looking for your husband.”

Her eyes widened as she paled. “Good heavens.” She placed a gloved hand on her throat. “Was anyone hurt?”

“Just the robbers,” Jax told her. 

Lady Augusta saw the two women and motioned to her footman. “Show Dr. Palmer’s girls to the servants’ entrance. They may stay with young Edith.”

She missed the slightly feral growl from the shorter of Dr. Palmer’s “girls” and Ray gave his teammates an apologetic look before being led into the mansion.


End file.
